Fear of Falling
by Punk.is.Awesome
Summary: What happens when you're in so deep you don't seem to be able to find a way out? When you're flying so high you're afraid to fall? Rated T to be safe. KBOW
1. Chapter 1

**Fear of Falling**

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_To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all._

**_Oscar Wilde_**

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**Chapter 1**

The rain was coming down in thick sheets, pounding against the window like a giant. Sleet mixed with the rain, forming strange patterns on the window like a kaleidoscope; interesting at first, but easy to grow bored of.

Katie sat on the ground, hugging her knees, apparently starting out of the window of her dormitory with great interest, even though, thanks to the weather conditions, it was impossible to make out anything over a metre away.

It was empty; everyone was either in the Great Hall finished dinner, or in the Common Room, having finished dinner. The quiet covered her like a thick blanket. It was only the faint, steady ticking of a clock that seemed so far off in the distance that assumed her that she was still alive.

Like a zombie, unaware to the world, she climbed into her warm bed, wishing that her dreams would bring her happiness and peace, even it would only be for a few hours until she was cruelly woken up to face another day of reality.

It was a few hours later when her friends found her, curled up in a ball under the thick quilt cover, the curtains of her four-poster bed still lying open rather untidily.

'Poor Katie,' Helena whispered, pulling the covers that had been kicked off in sleep back over Katie.

'Too much stress,' Tania said, looking at her friend with pity.

'The power of love,' Angelina stated. She left her comment hanging as she left the room, heading towards her own dormitory.

**-:-**

The next morning started with the usual routine on Katie half; wake up to a blaring alarm clock, grudgingly get up and head straight to the bathroom. Unfortunately for her, as soon as she had resurfaced from the bathroom she was bombarded with her friend, already dressed and wide-awake, insisting they would "help her."

If by helping her they meant making her look better by fixing her hair, makeup and all of the stuff she usually laughed at the thought of, then they helped her a lot.

Half an hour later, the two girls emerged in the Common Room with a new Katie beside them. She couldn't help feeling special when people, who wouldn't normally give her a second glance, were staring at her, mouths opened. Being your stereotypical quidditch player, Katie wasn't used to all the attention, so found her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink with every passing minute as she was paraded around like a show-dog, or so she felt.

'Breakfast!' Tania announced, and proceeded to lead me towards the Great Hall.

The trio entered quite unnoticed, much to my pleasure. Katie had quickly realised that she preferred being invisible as to being in the limelight, and she planned to keep it that way.

Like most mornings, she only had a small breakfast, which was more than enough to fill her even smaller appetite.

'What have you done to my chaser?' Oliver joked. Katie found him sitting across from her, yet she hadn't noticed him sit down. He surveyed her; up and down as best he could while she was sitting down, but she couldn't help noticing that his eyes linger over her a minute longer that they usually would. It was because of this that she could feel the pink tinge reappearing in her cheeks, as she diverted her eyes onto them now empty plate in front of her.

'See you tonight at practice,' Oliver said, getting up and leaving the Great Hall, towards his next class.

'Where are we now,' Tania asked, having, once again, forgotten her timetable.

'Charms,' Helena, our very own bookworm, answered automatically.

Sometimes, Katie couldn't help thinking that, if wasn't Helena's help when it comes to homework and revision, she would have been kicked out of Hogwarts years ago. Helena was always the one who would stay up helping her catch up after quidditch practice.

'Come on,' Katie said, not wanting to be late; even if she wasn't the best student, she still liked to stay on teachers' good sides.

**-:-**

Charms was uneventful. So was the rest of the school day.

When the last bell of the day went she was ecstatic, and left the greenhouse in such a rush, not paying any attention to where she was going.

It was because her inattentiveness, that she found herself sitting in the mud, students filing past her, having walked straight into something quite solid. Her bag had went one way, her folder the other and that left her in the middle, sitting on the ground like an idiot.

'Sorry!' she stuttered, not bothering to look up, but grabbing her bag from the ground before the damp could soak in through the material and soak everything inside, and before it got completely covered in mud. Reaching for the folder, she found a hand get to it first.

'Thanks,' she said, looking up to find herself staring into the most magnificent chocolate brown eyes she'd ever seen. And, if she wasn't pulled back into reality, she was sure that she would have got lost into them.

'No problem,' she heard a familiar voice say. The voice of Oliver Wood.

'See you later,' she mumbled quickly, hurrying off towards the castle, not daring to look behind her, and not stopping until she reached the portrait of the fat lady.

Mumbling the password, she entered without a sound and headed straight to her dormitory. She discarded her bag in a corner, and put her file on top of it, before changing out of her school robes and into something more comfortable.

**-:-**

At half six she left the Common Room in her quidditch robes, wanting to have a bit of time on her own to warm up before everyone else arrived.

As she reached the quidditch pitch, and mounted her broomstick, and proceeded to fly in wide circles close to the ground.

It took her a few minutes to realise a single figure standing on the ground, watching her fly, her hair flowing behind her in the wind, like an angel, he though, watching her every move carefully.

The magic in her graceful movements were lost when she noticed him watching, as she headed straight to the ground, her anger visible.

'How long have you been watching me!' she demanded as soon she she'd set foot on the ground, marching towards him.

'Long enough to know you don't fly half as good as that at practice,' Oliver shot back. 'I was on my way here when I bumped into you.'

Unsure of what to say, Katie merely glared at him, before turning around and stalking into the changing rooms. In silence, she sat on one of the uncomfortable benches, staring at the plain white wall in front of her, taking note of all the patches where the paint was starting to peel off.

'Katie,' she heard a voice call, but it went silence after she didn't respond. 'Sorry . . .' his voice trailed off as he entered the changing rooms and he sat down on the bench beside her.

'For what?' Katie asked coldly.

'For everything,' Oliver said, his voice full of concern. 'I want to know why you've been so distant lately. I'm worried about you.'

'It's complicated,' Katie mumbled as an answer, not wanting to take the subject any further. 'Anyway, you'll find out when the times right.'

'And when will that be?'

'I don't know . . .'

'Hey Oliver. Katie,' the unnaturally cheerful voice of Fred sounded from the doorway, killing the mood as he often did. 'Ready for an exciting practice!'

It was hard to tell whether he was being sincere, or sarcastic, but neither of the two had the energy to take the subject any further and follow their suspicions, so left the changing rooms to find the rest of the team in the air and already starting warm-up by throwing a quaffle around in a circle.

'Let's just go straight into a match!' Oliver called to his teammates, mounting his broom and taking off after Katie.

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_**Teaser**_

_'Hagrid . . . That's the Forbidden Forest . . .' Katie stuttered, edging away slowly._

_'Not scared, are you Katie?' Oliver asked, clearly mocking her. _

_'No,' she replied._

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**Happy New Year xD!**

**Please review?**


	2. Chapter 2

Fear of Falling

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_You call it madness, but I call it love._

_**Don Byas**_

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**Chapter 2**

Katie had never liked potions, ever since her first lesson all those years ago, when she had got points taken off her for answering a question _correctly_ after a Slytherin answered it incorrectly. I supposed her hatred for potions was solely the fault of the biased, cold-hearted potions master.

She'd always taken care to arrive on time to potions, not wanting to get on the bad side of Snape, and this day was no exception. Arriving with a few minutes to spare, Katie took the same seat she had sat in since her first day.

'Silence!' Snape ordered as she entered the room, thought there was no need as the room was already quiet. 'Today we will be brewing the draught of the living dead. I would like to see some of you proving that I am not wasting my time teaching you bunch of idiots, but sadly, I doubt that will happen any time soon. You have one hours, instructions are on the board and any ingredients needed are in the cupboard.' He ended with two flicks on his wand; one revealed a set of instructions of the board in neat, print writing and the other opened the cupboard door.

'I'll get the ingredient, you set up?' Helena proposed to Katie. She received a reply, which consisted of a quick nod, and she left to find the ingredients she needed in the cupboard. Katie proceeded to set up her cauldron, and take out a few things she would needed.

'Carelessness!' Snape spat, hovering over the cauldron as Katie added the last few ingredients. Much to get displeasure, instead of being the silver it should have been at this stage, with a fine shimmer rising from it, the potion inside it was a metallic blue colour that looked thick like petrol. 'Detention Bell!'

**-:-**

'And he didn't even give Helena detention!'

Katie finished her rant with a sigh, and melted into one of the overstuffed armchairs that resided in Gryffindor common room. Around her, the Gryffindor quidditch team was situated, some pretending to listen, while others didn't even bother to mask their boredom but instead watched some first years playing exploding snap across the common room.

'Oliver's going to kill me,' she stated.

'Why?' Alicia asked, as she came out of her daydream.

'Because I'm going to miss practice on Friday because of it,' she explained.

'Didn't you hear? Practice is cancelled on Friday. McGonagall gave Oliver detention because he didn't have his homework with him,' Alicia told her.

Katie couldn't help but laugh. Oliver was the sort of person who was always prepared with everything he needed to class, and usually not one to forge things.

'That's right, just laugh,' a voice said behind her, causing her laughter to die in her throat.

'Oh, hi Oliver . . .' Katie said quietly, unsure of what else to say.

'Snape told me to tell you that you have to meet Hagrid in the Entrance Hall at seven on Friday for your detention,' Oliver said coldly, before turning and going up the staircase to the boys' dormitory.

With a sigh Katie grabbed the essay in front of her – which consisted on a title and nothing more -, she stuffed in into her bag and stood up. 'I'm going to bed,' she told those around her. She headed towards the girls staircase and up to her dormitory.

Once again, she collapsed onto her bed, not bothering to close the curtains. She was still wearing her uniform, as she couldn't be bothered to change into something more suitable to sleeping.

**-:-**

Friday came all too soon. It time appeared to go twice as fast to Katie, as it seemed that she had blinked and then it was time to meet Hagrid for her detention.

'See you later,' she said to her friends, leaving the Common Room with ten minutes to get the to Entrance Hall.

'Hullo Katie,' Hagrid greeted along with a large wave as she reached the bottom on the stairs. 'We'll leave in a minute; just waitin' on Oliver!'

'Oliver, as in Oliver Wood?' Katie asked.

'The very one!' Hagrid replied cheerfully as usual.

Katie couldn't help but smile at the thought of spending time with Oliver outside quidditch practice, even if it was in detention.

'There he is!' Hagrid said, raising his huge arm without warning and causing Katie to duck instead of being thumped over the head.

'Hey Katie,' Oliver greeted as he approached the pair.

'Oliver,' she replied coldly, before turning to Hagrid. 'Where're we going, Hagrid?'

'Follow me,' Hagrid said, not wanting to spoil what he thought would be a nice surprise for the two, and he went out the door, the pair following closely behind.

At first, they seemed to be heading towards Hagrid's hut, but one quick turn later they stood on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

'Hagrid . . . That's the Forbidden Forest . . .' Katie stuttered, edging away slowly.

'Not scared, are you Katie?' Oliver asked, clearly mocking her.

'No,' she replied, her voice sounding strong and definite, despite the fear she was feeling inside.

'Come on,' Hagrid called, making his way in.

Katie and Oliver followed as closely behind as they could, not wanting to be left behind. They stopped walking after about five minutes and found themselves in a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a large bonfire that seemed to be alive.

Slowly, Oliver moved towards it and appeared to be looking at something.

'Salamanders!' Hagrid boomed cheerfully. 'They've got scale rot. It's you're job to rub this stuff on them!' He signalled to a few bottles laid out near the fire. 'An' don't let the fire go out!'

'Is that is?' Oliver asked with a slight laugh at the thought of his detention.

'Yup,' Hagrid replied. 'Now, I'll be just over there tending to the Hippogriffs! Just send up sparks if you need me.'

And he left without another word, leaving the pair alone of the Forbidden Forest.

'You get that stuff, and I'll get some salamanders,' Oliver told Katie.

In silence, they worked on their job for around an hour. The occasional hooting of an owl somewhere in the tree was the only thing to break the silence.

'Oliver, what was that?' Katie asked, looking around her.

'What was what?' he replied nonchalantly.

'I heard something,' she explained, the anxiety clear in her voice.

Maybe it was her worry that made him care, or maybe something different.

'Don't worry. It can't be anything dangerous. And if it is, it'll have to fight me first!'

'Oliver . . .' Katie said after a few minutes of silence.

'Yes?'

'Why have you been ignoring and avoiding me lately? Is it something I done?' she asked innocently.

He wanted to let everything spill out; tell her everything so she would understand why he had hurt her. But he couldn't, could he? It would either pull her closer to him, or drive her further away and he didn't want to take the risk.

'It's not you,' he finally decided to say. 'I've just been having a rough time recently.'

'Can I help with anything?'

_Yes!_

'No, don't worry about it . . .Can I ask you something, Oliver?'

'Of course you can.'

'I need you're advice on something, since you're a man and all.'

'Ask away.'

'Okay. There's this boy I like, but I don't know if he likes me back . . . How can I tell if he likes me?' she asked, looking at the ground in an attempt to hide her now scarlet cheeks.

'Well, you could tell him, that might work. Or, just watch if he acts different around you that the other girls he might hang around with.'

'Thanks, Oliver. That really helped.'

'Can I ask who it is you're talking about?'

'You don't want to know . . .'

'You can trust me, Katie.'

'You . . .' she whispered. Her voice was barely audible, but it was clear that he heard her, as he diverted his gaze from her to the fire as soon at the word reached his ears. 'I told you that you didn't want to know,' she said quietly, feeling awkward.

'Look, Katie, I don't know how to say this . . .' Oliver began, but she quickly cut him off.

'You don't have to say anything; I understand,' Katie said, covering the hurt in her voice with a fake laugh.

Oliver merely looked at Katie for a few moments, toying with the idea of telling her his feelings anyway. There was a risk of ruining the friendship they had built up over the years; a risk he wasn't ready to take.

'I'm sorry,' he told her. He was genuinely apologising, for once, which wasn't something he was used to. Apologising meant admitting you were wrong to him, and that wasn't something he openly did, but just looking at her made him feel like a different person.

'For what?' she asked, laughing again as she tried to cover over her feelings, and succeeded. Some things aren't meant to be spoken; maybe that was one of them . . .

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_**Teaser**_

_'I'll just go alone then!' Katie said, not trusting herself to say anything else. _

_'Or you could go with me,' the Scottish voice she hadn't heard in days said, causing her heart of beat so fast she thought it would jump out of her chest._

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Thank's InvictusLass for the review

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Please Review?? I'd give yooh a hug? xD 


	3. Chapter 3

**Fear of Falling**

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_You always admire what you really don't understand._

_**Blaise Pascal**_

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**Chapter 3**

'You said what?!' Tania exclaimed as Katie retold the tale of her detention once again just for Tania. 

'She told him she _loves_ him,' Helena answered, dragging out the word "love" solely to annoy her friend.

'I did not!' Katie argued. 'I told him I liked him; there's a difference.'

'What'd you do that for?' Tania asked, despite living with Katie through her, shall we say obsession with a certain keeper.

'Because she was going to burst if she didn't tell him,' Alicia said before Katie had a chance to answer for herself.

'Would you stop answering for me!' Katie cried; it wasn't a request, but more of an order. 'Anyway, he doesn't like me, so it doesn't matter.'

'How do you know?' Alicia asked.

Katie was glad it wasn't Tania asking the question, and answered before anyone else got the chance. 'Because he was about to let me down, quite gently by the sound of it, before I stopped him.'

'Why'd you stop him?' Tania asked her.

'Because she didn't want her heart ripped out,' Angelina answered as she sat down beside them on a comfy, overstuffed chair beside the fire. Katie didn't bother to correct her answer, knowing that deep down it was the right answer, even if she tried to convince herself it was wrong.

Thankfully, the Common Room was empty, the sole reason they had choose to sit there instead of in the dormitory. Most people were either at dinner already, wanting to get in early with the prospect of a free night of fun and laughter ahead of them.

'Dinner anyone?' Angelina asked; she was the voice of reason that always steered them in the right direction.

The group of girls headed down to the Great Hall, where they were greeted with a lot of laughter, and fragments of conversations drifting their way as they sat down. They say beside the Weasley twins, who moments before had been waving frantically in an attempt to grab their attention.

'What brings you down here so late?' George asked no one in particular, taking a large gulp of pumpkin juice.

'We had a few things to sort out first,' Katie replied, not wanting to give anyone else the chance to.

'So Angelina,' Fred began, edging a little closer to her. 'Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?'

'Yeah, okay,' Angelina answered without having to think about her answer, but merely looking into his eyes.

'Want to go with me, Alicia?' George asked the girl sitting across from him, obviously not wanting to feel let out.

'Sorry George, but I'm going with Lee,' Alicia replied, not sounding sorry at all. She let out a small giggle as she looked over to where Lee was sitting, and she seemed to become lost in his eyes.

George quickly shrugged her answer off and turned to Helena. 'Want to go to Hogsmeade with me?' he asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Unlike Angelina, Helena decided to think about her answer before giving her final verdict. 'Okay,' she decided, then added, 'as friends.'

'Don't worry about me,' Katie said. 'I'll just go with Tania.'

It was then that Tania went unusually quite. 'Actually,' she whispered. 'I'm going with David, from my Charms class . . .'

'I'll just go alone then!' Katie said, not trusting herself to say anything else.

'Or you could go with me,' the Scottish voice she hadn't heard in days said, causing her heart of beat so fast she thought it would jump out of her chest.

'Is that an offer, Mr Wood?' she asked jokingly, trying to sound cool.

'Why yes, I believe it is,' he replied, his voice fully of seriousness. 'So, is that a yes?'

'You know me only to well,' Katie laughed, moving up on the bench to make room for him to squeeze in.

That one, simple sentence took more courage than for her to get onto a broomstick for the first time; it was the first of many steps, but she wasn't going to cross that bridge until they came to it.

**-:-**

With Saturday came the Hogsmeade visit a certain group of Gryffindors couldn't wait for. In the days leading up to it they found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on anything other than their plans, something one of them in particular wasn't used to.

Katie was standing at the end of her bed, looking at the two outfits she had laid out side-by-side on the bed in front of her.

'Which one?' she asked Tania, their fashion guru, trying to solve the simple problem of what to wear.

'That one!' Tania replied happily, pointing to the outfit on the right.

'Are you sure?' Katie asked, unsure of her friend's choice.

'Yes! Now get changed; you have ten minutes!'

Ten minutes later, Katie emerged from the girls' staircase looking like a new girl. She was wearing the outfit Tania picked out; a pair of straight-legged jeans, a plain black t-shirt and a red, short-sleeved blouse on top.

'You look nice,' Oliver greeted, offering her his arm, which she automatically took. 'It's a nice change from quidditch robes.'

'Thanks,' Katie muttered, going a little pink in the cheeks.

They walked up the road to Hogsmeade together in an awkward silence, both unsure of what to say.

'There's a new quidditch shop opened; want to check it out?' Oliver asked, breaking the silence.

'Yeah, that sounds like fun,' Katie replied, her mind obviously somewhere else.

'Katie, what's wrong?' Oliver asked, stopping in his tracks to look at her.

'Oliver, when did you stop thinking of me as just a chaser and start thinking of me as something else?' Katie asked in reply, not bothering to beat around the bush. The question had been eating at her as they walked in silence, and she wasn't able to shut it to the back of her mind and forget about it. She needed an answer!

'I -' he began, shocked at how upfront she'd been. 'I _never_ thought of you as 'just a chaser'. Katie, you're so much more that a chaser, and that's what I love about you.'

He laced his fingers in hers before continuing. 'Now, how about we go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink?'

'Sounds great,' she replied.

'I'll get the drinks, and you can find a table,' Oliver said as they entered, and made his way to the bar, leaving Katie to battle through the crowds of students to find a free table. Thankfully, there was a free table in a quite corner, away from all the chatting students who were glad to be out of the castle, even if it was only for a few hours.

'One butterbeer!' Oliver announced, setting the drink in front of Katie and taking the seat opposite.

'Thanks!' Katie replied, taking a sip of the drink and letting it fall down her throat, warming her.

Small talk kept them occupied for a few minutes before it went quite between the pair. They both concentrated hard on the drink in front of them, trying to find some words to say, any words, to break the silence.

'Nice weather,' Katie said weakly in a dreadful attempt to strike a conversation. She hadn't realised how hard it would be to talk to her captain off the quidditch pitch; it was as if they had nothing else in common.

'Tell me about yourself, Katie,' he said, interrupting her thoughts.

'Err, okay,' she replied hesitatingly. 'Well, my parents are both muggle – they don't do anything interesting. My dad was always working as I grew up, so I'm closer to my mum. I was ecstatic when I got my Hogwarts letter because it offered me an escape from my old life; a life I don't want to go back to. I loved quidditch from the first time I got on a broom, and my obsession just spiralled from there! Most of my summers are spent listening to some music by my favourite muggle bands, and catching up with the few muggle friends I have left – who think I go to some fancy boarding school in Scotland. I'm just your average, quidditch obsessed teenage girl I guess.'

Oliver nodded along as she said things, taking in everything she said with a thirst to know more about her than she did. When she finally finished, Oliver looked at her; she wasn't sure what he was looking for, but a after a few minutes of silence she found out. 'You're so much more than a quidditch obsessed girl,' he said, a small smile of his face. 'And by no means are you average.'

Katie laughed; the laugh that, to Oliver, was the sweetest sound in the world, like the rush of air as you flew faster than was advisable, but only better.

'What about you, Oliver?' she said. 'Aren't you going to tell me about yourself?'

The smile faded off his face as she spoke. 'I don't want to bore you,' he said quietly, and mumbled something about needing something in the quidditch shop. He quickly left, leaving a confused Katie Bell sitting at the table along, unsure about what had just happened.

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**Review, please? I'll beg if I have to xD**

**Anywho, thanks for reading [unless you just skimmed down to here xD and shall update ASAP!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fear of Falling**

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_It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend_

_**William Blake**_

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**Chapter 4 **

'Oliver Wood, stop ignoring me and start acting like a man!!' Katie screamed, slamming her locket shut after a particularly hard quidditch practice, physically and emotionally.

He said nothing in reply, but the girls could hear a shower being turned on in the boys changing area, which they all presumed, was Oliver, drowning away Katie's screams.

Katie let out a scream of frustration before grabbing her bag and exiting the changing rooms, making as much noise as possible in the process.

Her bad mood came with her as she made her way across the grounds, marching with too much force as if she was taking her anger out of the ground.

'Hey, Katie,' the voice of Fred said cautiously, aware of his friends foul mood. 'You okay?'

'What do you want?' she shot back, not loosing her footing in her march as she spoke.

'I wanted to make sure you were okay?' Fred said, jogging to keep up with her. 'We're all worried about you.'

'I doubt that,' she said bitterly.

'Just tell me what's wrong?!' Fred exclaimed, causing Katie to stop dead in her tracks.

'You wouldn't understand . . .' she mumbled.

'Try me.'

'It's just . . .well, everything,' she began, walking towards a large oak tree, which she took a seat under, closely followed by Fred who sat down on her side. She took a deep breath before beginning again. 'My grade's are slipping, and McGonagall's threatened to have me kicked off the quidditch team if I don't pick up my transfiguration grades, and she hasn't even heard from the other teachers about my work yet. My quidditch is getting worse, so I don't think I have to worry about McGonagall kicking me off; Oliver'll do that for her. There's the fact that our captain is refusing to speak to me, let alone acknowledge me existence. And to top it all off, I have absolutely no idea what I can do to solve any of my problems!'

For a moment, Fred just looked at her as if trying to read her emotions, but it seemed that he gave up.

'Oh,' he said quietly, but he eventually got his voice back as he spoke again. 'Well, I could help you in transfiguration if you want. And you're quidditch is fine; it's just your imagination. But, I think you need to ask Alicia and Angelina for advice for your last problem; it's not really my area of expertise.'

'Thanks, Fred. Surprisingly, that helped a lot.' She stood up and with a final smile in his direction turned and headed towards the castle once again, leaving him sitting under the tree.

'It's not supposed to be surprising . . .'

**-:- **

Things were almost back to normal by the end of the week; Oliver still refused to talk to her for a reason that was unknown to her, but he had started acknowledging her presence with a sharp nod. She had been given a chance by McGonagall to redeem herself in a test, though if she failed she would most certainly be kicked off the quidditch team, whether or not it meant loosing the house cup.

The wind managed to find it's way through all of the cracks in the old castle, causing breezes of icy wind to blow around the corridors. The Gryffindor quidditch team, save the captain, was tucked up in the Gryffindor Common Room, all of them helping Katie revise for her Transfiguration test.

'It's hopeless!' she exclaimed, throwing her textbook at the wall startling a group of first years on whom the book landed. 'I'm going to fail!'

'Don't take that attitude,' Alicia said, trying to keep her hopes up. 'It can't be that bad!'

'But it is!' Katie whined. 'I'm going to fail, get kicked off the quidditch team and have a very angry McGonagall because we'll loose the house cup and a very angry captain for multiple reasons! It's certain that I'm going to be killed, the only question is which one will get to me first!'

'It'll be me,' a familiar Scottish voice said from behind the sofa the group was squashed up in.

They all turned around at once to see their captain leaning on the back of the sofa, looking very relaxed as he spoke.

'Can we, er, talk, Katie?' he asked quietly, ignoring the stares the six of them were giving him.

'Sure,' she replied quietly, staying where she was.

'In private?'

'Okay.'

Slowly, she got up and followed him out of the Common Room, not looking back to see the bewildered faces of her friends and team mates as they watched the pair leave.

'Where are we going?' she asked after they had been walking for a few minutes in silence.

No answer.

She decided not to press the subject any further as she began to notice how empty the halls were; unusually empty. Generally there were students exploring the halls in the evenings between dinner and curfew, but not on that particular night.

Without warning, Oliver stopped, though Katie, despite her excellent reactions on the quidditch pitch, which unfortunately did not exist on solid ground, continued walking, which ended with her walking into the very solid back of Oliver Wood.

'Sorry,' she mumbled, quickly taking a few steps backwards and trying to hide the pink tint that had appeared on her check.

Oliver entered the room they were standing outside without a word, and she instinctively followed him inside.

_We walked all this way to get to an empty classroom! _

'Look, Katie . . .' he began weakly, taking a seat on a table in the front row and signalled for her to sit down beside him, which she did. 'I'm sorry.'

'For what?' she asked, holding back the angry that she had been felling towards him recently. A civilised conversation; she could do that.

'For walking off at Hogsmeade, for ignoring you, for a hell of a lot of things! I was confused, and scared . . .'

'I won't lie to you; it annoyed me when you left with no reason, and in a way it made me feel unwanted. I answered your questions, but you didn't answer mine. If you want to make this work you're going to have to trust me, Oliver.'

'I do,' Oliver said quietly. 'And I'm sorry – really sorry.'

'Saying it is one thing, but meaning it is something completely different.'

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**I'd like to thank my reviews for Chapter 2 and 3, because I for to add the to the last chapter xD**

**Ch 2**

_**jalapeno1011**_ _- Why use the drought of the living dead? Because it was the first one that came into my head xD  
**Cinny75**_

**Ch 3  
****_Cinny75_**  
**_everly_**  
**_silent ash  
_****_Meshugganuh_**

Yes, it's shorter than the rest, but I decided to cut out the last bit and shall use it in the next chapter 

**Muwhahaha! XD **

**Well, hope you enjoyed!**

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fear of Falling**

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_Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it_

_**Lewis Carroll**_

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

It was quite in the Common Room when Katie entered on Monday morning. She was the first up in her dormitory, but decided against waking the other girls, as she didn't want them to kill her.

The fire was already lit, courtesy of the Hogwarts house elves, so Katie decided to curl up in an armchair close to the fire and revise for the Transfiguration test she had that day, but hadn't had the time to do any revision for thanks to quidditch, and hadn't planned on doing any either. It was important that she passed it, as McGonagall had constantly reminded her, for her quidditch future and her personal well being if her teammates found out.

Silently, she went over spells in her head in her head, her wand moving to copy the movements demonstrated in her textbook. It was a few minutes of simple wand moments until she felt confident enough to try to actually transfigure something.

Pointing her wand at the open textbook on the table in front of her, she flicked it, muttering the incantation under her breath. A few pages of the books turned over, but apart from that there was no change.

'Damn it!' she said, kicking the book off the table in her frustration.

'Having problems?' the familiar voice of one of the Weasley twins asked from behind her.

'No, I find it relaxing,' she replied, the sarcasm dripping off her voice.

'Want any help?' he asked again.

'If you don't mind . . . George?'

'Fred,' he replied, sounding slightly hurt as his friend confused him with his brother, but she couldn't tell if he was sincere or joking as he tended to do.

'Sorry,' she said quietly.

'Now! Transfiguration of imamate objects!' Fred announced, trying to lighten the move. 'Show me what you've been doing.'

Katie lifted her book from the ground and placed it back on the table. Once again, she pointed her wand at the book and flicked it, saying the spell quietly so that it couldn't be heard. Nothing.

'Ah!' Fred said, watching her carefully. 'Well, your problem is easy to fix. It's not the wand movements, or the words. It's your confidence; the problem being that you have one. Clear your mind, ignore anyone that's watching, including me, and try again.'

And she did try. Concentrating solely on the book in front of her, she tried one last time, closing her eyes as she saw movement. Slowly, she opened them after counting to ten, a muggle remedy for nerves. Or was it for anger?

There, in place of her book sat a pocketsize mirror, the item she had been trying to transfigure it into.

'Wow,' she said quietly, slightly shocked that Fred's advice had worked. 'Thanks Fred!'

He was beaming as she thanked her and quickly muttered something along the lines of, 'Don't worry 'bout it!' before he turned the mirror back into her textbook with a flick of his wand.

'My hero,' she said with a laugh, picking up the textbook. 'See you at breakfast!' And she hurried up the stairs to her dormitory to collect her bag full of her books for the day.

'Happy?' a voice asked from the far corner of the Common Room, startling Fred as he had thought it was empty save him and Katie.

Out of the shadows, Oliver walked out, his quidditch plays under his arms – He had obviously been working on them.

'What do you mean?' Fred asked.

'Just don't hurt her,' Oliver said quietly, walking up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

**-:- **

At their usual place at the Gryffindor table, the majority of the quidditch team sat in their usual seats, joking and laughing among themselves.

'Did you see Snape's face when he opened his drawer?' Fred asked the group, talking about their potions lesson the previous afternoon.

'Priceless!' George added, laughing with the rest of the group.

Katie laughed along with the group, despite the fact that she was in the year below them, so wasn't there. She always liked hanging around with her quidditch team; they were more fun than most of those in her year and always up for a laugh regardless of the consequences.

'Practise at eight,' Oliver said as he sat down, before shovelling pancakes into his mouth as if they would disappear any minute.

'Oliver, slow down!' Alicia exclaimed. 'It's disgusting.'

He said something that sounded like 'Slept in' through his mouthfuls, spitting half-chewed pieces of pancakes over Katie, who sat opposite.

'Eugh!' Katie cried, flicking pieces of food off her robes quickly before they could spread. 'Alicia's right! It is disgusting how you eat!!'

'You're one to talk, Katie,' one of the twins added; George, she guessed. 'Shovelling food into your mouth when you visited last summer, if I remember correctly.'

'That was different,' Katie muttered, but then decided to stay quite for the rest of breakfast to avoid further humiliation. Without another word, Katie got up and grabbed her bag, throwing it unceremoniously over her shoulder before walking out of the Great Hall heading towards Charms, her first class.

'Someone's in a bad mood!' she heard the familiar Scottish accent behind her say with a hint of triumph as if he knew he was getting to her; either that or it was his way of hiding the fact that _she_ was getting to _him_.

'Leave me alone, Wood,' she spat venomously, quickening her pace. 'Do you have something better to do that follow me?'

'Nope!' he replied smugly, and although she couldn't see him she could still tell he was smirking by his tone.

She felt a tug at her wrist from behind, but continued to walk. There was another tug, this time harder. Once again she ignored it, following the usual path she took to Charms down the empty corridors. Most people were still at breakfast, and she was quickly wishing she were still there a well.

A third tug, this time more violent, which caused her body to abruptly jolt, sending her bag flying across the corridor and her to turn around and face the perpetrator.

'What do you want?' she almost screamed, her last nerve flying away with her bag. 'Haven't you already caused enough damage for one week?'

Her words cut into his and she could see the pain they caused in his eyes. She couldn't take them back, or the pain, but she didn't want to, which made her feel even guiltier. It felt almost _calming_ to hurt him; what sort of monster had she become.

'Just leave me alone, Oliver,' she whispered.

'But Katie . . .' he said softly, looking into her eyes with his rich, chocolate brown eyes which she loved so much, trying to penetrate the barrio she had set up and see into her soul, but he tried in vain.

'You don't understand anything, do you?' she asked, not expecting an answer as she turned around to pick her bag up again, letting her last sentence linger in the air between them.

**-:-**

She was early for class; too early, unless she wanted to be seen as an over-obsessive bookworm for the rest of her life at Hogwarts, which Katie certainly didn't want. The only problem was what to do to kill the half an hour before she could safely make an appearance outside the Charms classroom. Going back to the Great Hall was out of the question; too many people, and she couldn't walking around the corridors, looking like a lost puppy.

'Morning!' Fred chimed, somehow appearing behind her and falling into pace beside her without her noticing.

'Morning Fred,' she replied.

'I must apologise for my brothers comment at breakfast; I am sure that you are aware of how tactful he can be.'

'You came all this way to apologise for George? I thought Weasleys didn't apologise.'

'You've caught me!' Fred said with a laugh. 'You know, the date for the next Hogsmeade trip is up. The Saturday before we get off for Christmas.'

'Yeah, I saw it this morning,' she replied quietly.

'I was wondering . . .' he began, choosing his words slowly and carefully.

'If I'd set you up with my friend Leanne in Ravenclaw?' Katie asked. She wasn't sure why she'd said it; maybe it had slipped out, or she was trying to cut any hopes his words had already started to build.

'Actually . . . I was wondering if _you_ would go with me . . .'

* * *

**O. I'd like to point out if the alerty thing sent you a message twice if you have this on alert [xDD! then it was my fault, because one of my terrible spelling mistakes that I decided to change.**

**Anywho, I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers!**

**everly**  
**Cinny75  
****Meshugganuh**

**Shall update as soon as I can; depends on school and junk** **really. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing **

**Er, review if you want . . . Or not . . . xD**

**Happy February everyone! D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Fear of Falling**

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_Where there is love, there is pain_

_**Spanish Proverb**_

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**Chapter 6 **

_'Actually . . . I was wondering if you would go with me . . .'__  
_

For a minute, Katie merely stared at her friend in disbelief, wondering if she had heard correctly.

Silence. Katie was lost in her most recent train of thought, deciding to think things over before she offered a reaction.

_I misheard him. Yes, that's sounds right! I just misheard him; nothing more, nothing less. _

'Sorry, but what did you just say?' Katie asked, secretly laughing at how she nearly over reacted.

_Now that could have been embarrassing. _

'I asked if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me,' Fred asked slowly as if it would help her understand what he had just said. 'Do you?'

'Er . . . I'll think about it,' she replied hesitantly.

'Okay,' Fred said simply, her answer obviously enough to keep him happy at that moment. 'Take your time!'

Katie watched as he turned and walked down the corridor, heading towards his first class of the day. She no longer felt like going to class, but skipping Charms was completely out of the question considering that she needed to keep her grades above a pass to maintain her spot on the quidditch team. And no quidditch meant no captain, but Katie was unsure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. Either way she decided not to push her luck and forced herself to go to Charms, and to the rest of her class that day, despite the fact that everything she heard went in one ear and out the other.

**-:- **

'Fred asked me to go to Hogsmeade,' Katie told Helena and Tania under the protective shade of an old chestnut tree by the shores of the lake. They had brought their books out to make a start on the homework they had been neglecting, not wanting to sit in the overcrowded common room.

'You said yes, didn't you!' Tania immediately squealed.

'Of course she didn't!' Helena argued.

'Actually, I said I'd think about it,' Katie told them.

'What!?' the two other girls exclaimed mutually, though both for different reasons.

'But I'm not going to go . . .' she finished.

'Why?' Tania persisted.

'Because she's in love with Oliver!' Helena answered. 'She said so herself!'

'Shut up!' Katie found herself screaming, much to her friends' amazement. 'I said it because I wanted to let him down easily; Fred's my friend and I don't want to crush him.'

'Oh Katie, are you oblivious to the way of love?' Helena asked, though it was obviously a rhetorical question. 'He's going to think that you like him, but you're confused because you like Oliver too and don't know who you like better. And that if you said yes without thinking about it, it would be like you were over Oliver, which we all know you're not, but he doesn't want to pressure you; he just wants you to know that he likes you.'

'Wow,' Katie whispered. 'And I thought guys only thought about sex.'

'No, she's right Katie!' Tania told her. 'You better set him straight as soon as possible.'

'I'll tell him after quidditch tonight.'

**-:- **

'Fred? Can I talk to you?' Katie asked quietly as the seven people who made up the Gryffindor quidditch team dismounted their brooms after a hectic practice.

'Sure,' Fred replied with a grin.

'Look, I don't know how to say this . . .' Katie began as they walked away from the group heading towards the changing room. She saw his smile fade as her words reached his ears; he obviously knew what was about to come. 'I can't go to Hogsmeade with you.'

'Not going?' Fred asked, clinging onto the last thread of hope.

'Actually, I am . . . It's not that I don't like you, but you're more of a brother to me . . .'

'Oh . . .'

In silence, the pair made their way back towards the changing room, neither hazarding a glance in the direction of the other, not wanting to made the situation any more awkward that it already was. They were glad to part as they entered the changing rooms, each heading to their respected sections.

Katie stood under the hot water of the shower longer that she usually would have. She didn't care that they water was too hot, almost burning her skin, as she scrubbed viciously at her hair, washing away the lather of her shampoo. As the water ran from her body and down the drain she felt calmer. The rhythm of the water beating against her back was soothing.

Eventually, she turned the shower off, before drying and changing quickly into the clothes she kept in her locker. She took her time gathering up her quidditch gear, leaving it in the basket for the house elves to collect and clean as her teammates had already done. With a quick flick of her wand her hair was dry and she haphazardly tied it back in a rather untidy ponytail to keep it out of her way. She started to put a few things into the bag she slung over her shoulder as she left the changing room, broom in her hand.

'What's wrong?' Oliver was leaning against the wall of the changing rooms, his hair still glistening with water droplets from his shower. Katie had to resist the urge to throw her arms around him; something she seemed to be doing a lot lately.

'Nothing. Why?' she replied, walking towards the broom closet. He kept up with her easily, falling into pace beside her.

'Because you always take long showers when something's bothering you,' he explained. 'So spit it out.'

'Why should I?' she asked as she put her broom in the closet.

'Because it would save me the bother of finding out from someone else.'

'Look, it's none of your business!'

'Isn't it? You're part of my team and it is my responsibility to make sure my team are in good condition, physically and mentally, and it is quite noticeable that this bothering you and I don't want it to effect your quidditch.'

'Quidditch! I can't believe you! You are so insensitive. That's all you are about; quidditch!' Katie screamed, trying hard to prevent herself from hitting his as hard as she could manage. 'You are unbelievable, Wood!'

'So it's Wood again?' he shouted. 'Is that how it's going to be, Katie? Make your mind up! One day you say you like me, the nest you treat me like you hate me. What the fuck is up with that?'

'It's because I _do_ like you, okay? I'm confused, and don't know what to do! I tell you a like you, then you ignore me! You finally get the balls to talk to me again, and then you run off when we're at Hogsmeade and don't bother to explain what that was about. And to top it all off, one of my best friends has to go and ask me out!'

Katie took a large gulp of air as soon she finished her most recent rant, not looking Oliver in the eye, as she was unsure of how he would react.

She felt two strong arms enclose her into a large hug, which made everything that had bothered her a minute before disappear in a heartbeat. She felt safe as he held her in his arms, and it felt right to be in his arms. His chin rested on her head.

A warm finger budged her chin up so that she was staring into his warm, brown eyes. It took a lot of self-control not to get lost in those eyes, as she had done many times before.

It was then that she finally realised that Oliver _did_ care for her. The little things no longer mattered; all that mattered was that they were together.

* * *

**Aww! xD Ain't that just lovely and sweet and rather sickening? xD Hope you likes the latest instalment!**

**I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers!**

**everly**  
**Cinny75**

**Review? I'll update when I get up to 17 reviews? Does that sound fair? Only 5 reviews?**

**Happy Valentines Day everyone! xD Personally, I hate that holiday soooo much but what's a girl gonna do? xD**


	7. Chapter 7

**Fear of Falling**

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_How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?_

_**Albert Einstein**_

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**Chapter 7**

It spread around the school like wildfire that the Gryffindor quidditch captain and his youngest chaser were now officially an 'item'. Regularly seen walking around the castle's grounds at night, hand-in-hand, they were quickly becoming quite a famous couple.

It was mid-November now, and it was now too cold to go outside without a cloak. The first few quidditch matches of the year had already been played, leaving Gryffindor second place by a margin on only ten points.

'I never properly apologised,' Oliver said one night as they walked slowly around the late, the sun slowly setting over the mountains, casting long shadows across the ground.

'Apologised for what?' Katie asked innocently.

'For being such an ass earlier in the year,' he said simply. 'I was just confused. I liked you Katie for a long time before I told you, but I didn't want to scare you away. Then you say you like me, and I don't know what to do. Then I ended up ruining out day at Hogsmeade through no fault but my own. And after that I ruined basically every chance I had of apologising to you by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I really messed up, Katie. Can you forgive me?'

Katie listened in awe, recognizing the sincerity in his voice as he spoke. 'I forgive you,' she replied, and they sealed it with a kiss.

**-:- **

For the second time that year, Katie found herself sitting at a table in the Three Broomsticks with Oliver in front of her, sipping at a warm glass full of butterbeer that warmed her from the inside out.

'We should defiantly do this more often,' Oliver said.

'Do what?' Katie asked, unsure of what he was talking about. _Go to Hogsmeade together? Or drink butterbeer together? _

'Just sit together and talk,' he replied simply, smiling the smile that made her heart melt. 'I think I love you, Katie.'

'I – I don't know what to say,' she replied quietly, for the first time in a long time lost for words.

'Then say nothing,' he whispered, pitting his hand on top of hers, which rested on the table between them. Her eyes glanced at their hands, together, before she smiled.

'Katie . . . my family has this party every Christmas Eve, and I was wondering . . . if you had nothing else to do, do you want to go with me?' He asked slowly, stopping and starting as he chose his words carefully, and finally let his offer sink in when he'd finished.

'I'd love to!' Katie replied, sounding genuinely excited at the prospect.

'You don't have to,' Oliver said weakly.

'But I _want_ to!'

'It's usually just my parents friends, my family and a friend or two of mine, but usually me and my friends sneak outside after the first half an hour or so, or whenever everyone is too drunk to notice. It's kind of fancy, so you can wear a dress and get dressed up and what not,' Oliver rambled, getting nervous at the mere _thought_ of taking Katie to his family's annual Christmas party where she would meet his parents.

'Oliver! You're rambling on a little,' Katie laughed, a smile lighting her face up. 'It'll be fine; don't worry about it!'

'I just wanted it to be perfect.'

'It will be!' Katie insisted, the sincerity in her words coming through in her voice.

'Well, I suppose I'll pick you up at eight on Christmas Eve then!' Oliver stated, a smile on his face at the prospect of a night spent together.

'That would be great! Now all I have to do is convince my parents.'

'Will that be a problem?'

'Probably not! My mum's pretty understand when it comes to this sort of thing, but my dad can be strict, so expect the worst! Though, they might have a _slight_ problem with the age difference, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. . . I think.'

'You think . . .?'

'You worry too much, Oliver!' Katie said with a laugh, leaving their conversation behind as she did so. 'So, how about we go to that quidditch shop we never went to the last time?'

**-:- **

The next morning, the Hogwarts students found themselves waking early, some finally packing before the train left at eleven, while others merely headed casually down to breakfast, the Christmas spirit already upon them. Laughter rang throughout the Great Hall, merged with a constant babble of hundreds of different conversations mixed into one, low and constant sound.

At the Gryffindor table, the quidditch team sat in their usual seats, their conversations light with laughter contributing greatly to the noise in the Great Hall thanks to the twins booming laughs.

'I expect you all to practice as hard as you do at Hogwarts over the holiday, if not harder,' Oliver said, his tone showing seriousness but the twinkle in his eyes giving him away.

'Sorry to tell you this, Wood, but unlike you we have a life outside quidditch!' George said, slapping his caption on the back harder that necessary.

'What about me?' Katie asked with mock insulation.

'You're a chaser, so you count as quidditch,' Fred laughed, though not looking Katie directly in the eye. It was quite obvious to everyone except Fred that he was still hurt about being rejected for Oliver, but he wouldn't accept it as a fact, and instead took to ignoring anyone that said it, letting their words go in one ear and out the other.

As was their tradition, the group of friends exchanged their presents as they sat beside the roaring fire in their favourite seats in the packed Common Room as they did every year.

'I'll be back in a few minutes!' Katie said, hurrying up the stairs to her dormitory to pack away her brightly wrapped presents so she could open them on Christmas morning.

'You never told us, Oliver, how'd it go yesterday at Hogsmeade?' Alicia asked with the eagerness of a puppy. You could imagine her with a tail, beating frenetically behind her, whacking George and Angelina, who sat on either side of her.

'It was great,' Oliver said simply, causing Fred to send him a glare that he missed and Angelina to smirk in satisfaction.

'What'd I miss?' Katie asked with a laugh as she sat down with the group once again.

'Nothing much,' Angelina said coolly. 'We'd better go; don't want to miss the train, do we and be stuck in Hogwarts all Christmas?'

'Katie, come here,' Oliver said quietly as the group got up to leave, and he led her over to a quite corner of the Common Room. 'I forgot to give you this. Merry Christmas!'

He handed her a small box that fit in her wrapped in gold paper with '_Katie_' wrote on it in near script.

'Thanks,' she replied quietly, looking at the box.

'I'll see you at the party?'

'Of course.'

* * *

**Okay, so I didn't get my 5 reviews, but since I was in such a good mood today [and slightly hyper xD I took the time out my busy schedual and updated anyway! Aren't I the best? xD**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;  
****everly**  
**Cinny75**  
**actingfreak  
****RubeusHagrid34**

**Er, review please?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_You're searching, for things that don't exist; I mean beginnings. Ends and beginnings -- there are no such things. There are only middles_

_**Robert Frost**_

* * *

**Chapter 8**

'For God's sake Katie, are you ready yet!' Katie heard her father call up the stairs.

'I'll be down in a minute!' she called back, though not budging from her seat on the bed, where she sat ready to go, save the pair of shoes that sat beside her. She had spent many hours during the previous week shopping for the perfect dress, and then another few hours making herself presentable for the night. She had favoured the 'plain' look, wanting to blend in easily, so opted for a blood red, strapless dress, that was tight fitting in the top, that 'went out' until it stopped just below her knees. Though, as plain as it looked on the hanger, it fitted the girl perfectly, especially when carefully matched with the gold shoes that sat beside her. 'Gryffindor colours!' she had decided before she knew what she was looking for, wanting to show some pride for her house. 

'Katie! Come down her NOW!' her father bellowed, and this time she decided not to procrastinate and face her fathers wrath. Slipping her shoes on, she carefully tied then into place before hurrying out of her room and down the stairs. 

She could see her father, dressed in his usual jeans and a plaid shirt looking like a peasant beside a king as he stood next to Oliver, dressed in a midnight tuxedo with a indigo tie, his hair looking exactly as it always did; perfect. 

Much to Katie's displeasure, because she was looking at Oliver and not where she was going she missed a step when she was a few to the bottom and found herself falling through the air rather clumsily, her arms waving helplessly in an attempt to right herself before she hit the floor painfully. 

In one fluid motion, Oliver managed to catch Katie, seconds before she would have hit the ground. She found herself staring into his chocolate brown eyes. He laughed as he helped her stand up and led her to the door/ 

'I'll have her back before sunrise,' Oliver told her father as the stepped outside, who replied with a glare. '2 O'clock?' 

'Better,' her father said gruffly before he shut the door behind the two. 

Oliver held the passenger door to his car opened; the only thing Katie noticed about it was that it was silver. 

'You drive?' she asked in disbelief, waiting for an answer before she got it. 

'Of course, don't you?' Oliver replied suavely. 

The answer seemed to be enough for Katie, who climbed into the car with as much grace as she could muster. 

'My family's pretty old-fashioned,' Oliver warned Katie as drove down the driveway towards the large house (or was it a small mansion) at the end. It was about twice the size of the house Katie lived in, and it appeared that the party was already in full swing. 

'I think I'll survive,' she replied as they parked in front of the house. 

Oliver politely opened the door for her and offered her a hand as she closed the door behind herself, which she gladly took. With Oliver in the lead, they headed up the steps into the main hall of the house, which was full of people talking or making their way from one place to another. 

Most people ignored the new arrivals, but a small group made their way through the crowd towards the pair. 

'Oliver, took your time!' David (Oliver's roommate) called from the front of the group. 'Fall down a hole?' 

Oliver laughed at he answered. 'No, we just decided not to rush.' 

It was with this comment that the group realised that Oliver was not alone, and Katie found six pairs of eyes on her. 

'How rude of me. I'm David,' David said with a bow, taking her hand and placing a light kiss on it. 

'Katie,' she replied quietly, feeling a little embarrassed. 

'There's Tristan and Cullen,' Oliver said, pointing out the other boys, then turning to the girl who stood beside their date looking very protective. 'Elissa, Claire and Sara.' 

'Nice to meet you,' Katie said to them all with a small, timid smile. 

'Come on, Oliver,' Tristan said, obviously going back to ignoring Katie's presence, and he proceeded to dragging Oliver into the main call room. The rest of them followed obediently. 

'You coming, Katie?' Cullen asked, extending an arm for her to take, as Oliver had done not so long ago. Katie hesitated for a moment, before taking his arm and allowing herself to be lead in the direction the group went a minute ago. 

'I never properly introduced myself,' he said as they walked around the dance floor. 'I'm Cullen.' 

'Katie,' she replied simply. 

'I know; you're in a lot of my classes,' he told her. 

'Shit, sorry!' Katie stuttered, her cheeks tinted with red in her embarrassment at not recognising a classmate. 

'Don't worry about it!' Cullen said with a laugh. 

'Err . . . What house are you in?' Katie asked hesitantly as she knew that she should know; yet she still couldn't place his face. 

'I'm a Ravenclaw through and through!' he said proudly. 

It seemed that the gears began to turn again in Katie's head as everything was put into place. 'You sit in front of me in charms!' 

'Yeah, and behind you in potions. Did you know that you really are quite bad at potions?' he said with another laugh. 

Katie couldn't help but smile as she nodded in confirmation. 'Potion's isn't my strong point.' 

'I could tutor you, if you like . . .' Cullen said tentatively. 

'That would be great, but only if you have the time!' Katie said, noticing how cute he looked when he was hesitant with his words. 

'We'll sort out times when we get back to Hogwarts, I guess.' 

'Yeah.' 

He led her out of a side door pained with glass, and they found the group that had left them behind gathered around a large bonfire made out of branches and large sticks. Lighthearted conversation filled the air, along with the smell of alcohol and burning wood. 

'Katie!' Oliver exclaimed, his words slightly slurred. 'I thought I'd lost you.' 

With a sheepish grin Katie left Cullen's side and was enveloped in Oliver's large arms. He smelt of a sickening mixture of alcohol and cologne; not a very pleasurable smell, Katie couldn't help but point out in her mind. 

The evening was quite pleasant, though a light breeze blew through the garden, making Katie wish that she had brought a jacket of some kind with her as a shiver was sent down her spine. Goosebumps rose on her arm as she shuffled closer to the fire for warmth. 

'Here,' Oliver said quietly, taking his jacket off and draping it over her shoulders. It was much too big for her, but she welcomed it, as it was warm. 

'Thanks,' she mumbled, inhaling the smell of his cologne that lingered on the jacket. 

The group continued chatting as they had done before the latest arrivals arrived, laughing at each other's jokes and swapping the latest gossip. 

_'It's going to be a long night,'_ Katie thought with a sigh, as she watched Oliver join a conversation on quidditch. 

'Bored yet?' Cullen asked from behind her, causing her to jump. 

'That doesn't even start to cover it,' Katie replied. 'How do you stand it?' 

'You get used to it, being raised this way,' he replied simply. 

'Shit! I don't think I could do it.' 

'You'd learn it all pretty quickly.' 

'Alas, I doubt that the lifestyle of the rich is meant for a poor urchin like me,' Katie said with a smile. 

'Personally, it's not for me either, but don't tell me parents that!' he said in an over exaggerated whisper, which caused Katie to let out a few stifled giggles. 'It's quite tiring really, but at least you have a comfy bed to go home to after all the parties.' 

'I don't know how you do it.' 

'To be honest, Katie, neither do I!' 

'Katie, ready to go? It's already past two,' Oliver asked, his speech even more slurred that before, as he put an arm around her shoulder. 

'Are you sure you can drive?' she asked innocently. 

'Course I can!' Oliver said, starting to walk back towards the door, stumbling over his feet as he did so. 

'Oliver, I don't think you should drive,' Cullen warned, grabbing Oliver's arm, and kept his grip as Oliver tried to shake him off. 

'Leave him alone, kill-the-crack!' David called from beside the bonfire, advancing on the pair to help Oliver. 'What's the worst that could happen?' 

'He could kill them both,' Cullen argued. 

'Oh lighten up!' 

'Make me!' 

'Just stop it!' Katie shouted. She then pushed roughly through the arguing boys, causing them to freeze and watch as she forced the door open with more force that needed, before making her way through the middle of the dance floor, letting the cries of those who got in her way go to deaf ears. 

She stormed down the steps of the house, her anger obvious as she kicked the stones in her way with too much power to be normal. Slowly, she walked down the large driveway, trying to sort out her thoughts and think rationally about what to do next. Walking was automatically ruled out, as she didn't know where to go, and going back was ruled out as well as she still wanted to keep her pride. 

_The Knight's Bus! _

Katie had processed the thought and decided to act on it before she realised one thing; she hadn't brought her wand with her because she didn't have a pocket to keep it in. 

_Stupid Katie! The one time you don't bring it and it's the one time you need it! _

'Need a lift?' she heard Cullen ask, sneaking up behind her for the second time that night. 

'You can't drive,' she said simply. 

'But I can fly.' 

* * *

**Another chapter! Yay! **

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;  
****everly**  
**Cinny75  
RubeusHagrid3  
****Oo.katieWood.oO**  
**theessenceofmurtlap**  
**Meshugganuh**

**I thought it was kinda important to reply to this comment here, though t'was anonymous so I couldn't reply otherwise xD So I'll clear stuff up now!**

**_Meshugganuh  
I was just wondering, what year are Oliver/Katie? One of my favorite things about your story is that it pretty much has nothing to do with Harry, but I was just wondering if Harry is even at school yet?_**

**Right! We'll Oliver's in 7th year, and Katie's in 5th year. She should probably be in 4th year, but I worked my numbers out wrong when I started and just stuck by my original working out xD And as to whether Harry's at school; I guess a better question would be if he even existed xD I'll plan to stick by the book as much as possible, but it ended up differently, and I forgot to mention Harry at all so far, so I guess there is no Harry (yet) xD Clear everything up?**

**Happy St Patrick's day everyone!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Everything in the universe goes by indirection. There are no straight lines_

_**Ralph Waldo Emerson**_

* * *

**Chapter 9**

'After dinner, in the library?' Katie repeated, making sure she had got both the time and the place correct.

'That's right,' Cullen confirmed with a smile as they walked out of potions together; their seconds last class of the day. 'See you later,' he said as they split; Cullen to ancient runes, and Katie to transfiguration.

'You're early!' Helena pointed out as Katie slid into the seat beside her and quickly took her books out of her bag.

'No I'm not, I'm just on time.'

'Maybe so, but Snape usually keeps you later to clean up the mess you made. No mess today?'

'Nope!' Katie replied happily. 'Cullen was helping me, so no mess! It makes a nice change.'

'Ah, the wonderful Cullen from the Christmas party disaster,' Helena teased, poking Katie with the feather end of her quill.

'Just leave me alone,' Katie hissed, before Professor McGonagall called the class to order.

'Today, we will be continuing with yesterday's work; mice into teacups!' McGonagall announced. 'Carla, will you hand out the mice? For god's sake, they don't bite! Fine, Edward, the mice please.'

'Do you think she'' mind my furry teacup?' Katie asked Helena as they left at the end of the lesson.

'Probably, but don't worry. Mine had a tail!' her friend answered with a laugh as the pair headed towards the Great Hall for dinner.

The Great Hall was already quite full when the two girls arrived, and they took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table along side the quidditch team.

'And Filch was in such a bad mood cleanin' up after the muddy first years that he didn't notice us carrying an armful of dug bomb though the portrait hole!' The twins finished their story with a simultaneous eruption of laughter. Around them, their friends let out a few chuckles as well.

'Do you see what's funny about that?' Helena whispered to Katie, who answered with a simple shake of the head. 'Does anyone expect them?'

'I don't know. Anyway, I'll see you later; I'm going to the library,' Katie said, standing up and throwing her bag over her shoulder haphazardly. With a few goodbyes muttered to everyone else she left the Great Hall.

'Where's she headed?' Alicia asked Helena as she watched her friend leave.

'The library,' was the answer; short and sweet.

'To do what?' Fred questioned, not bothering to mask his interest.

'Study, I presume. I'd guess potions, considering she's dreadful at it.'

**X**

'You're early,' Cullen stated as Katie sat down beside him.

'You're the second person that's said that to me today,' Katie replied with a smile. 'And just because I'm usually late for potions, doesn't mean I'm late for everything.'

'Always,' he corrected.

'Sorry, what?'

'You're not usually late, you're _always_ late; one of the reason's Snape hates you. The other being you can't make a potion for shite!'

'And that's where you come in?'

'That's where I come in,' he repeated. 'Now. Where do you want to start? On today's homework?'

'Sounds good; I had absolutely no idea what Snape was talking about today,' she said with a laugh.

'You were too busy looking at me,' Cullen added with a wink, before pulling the extremely large potions textbook, which Snape insisted they carried to class every day, as well as a few rolls of parchment.

'It's really quite easy, if you know where to look,' he began, flicking straight to the index of the book to help demonstrate his point and running a finger along the list of words until he found what he was looking for. 'It cuts out the time of skimming through the book.'

**X**

Two hours later and Katie was closing her textbook with unneeded force, glad to be finished at last and shocked that she had actually understood.

'You're a great teacher!' she told Cullen as they walked out of the library and towards Gryffindor common room. 'I don't know what I would have done without you – failed probably.'

'Well then, I'm glad to be the person stopping you from failing potions! Same time tomorrow?'

'I have quidditch practice. How about Wednesday?'

'Sounds good to me,' Cullen replied with a smile, then added with a laugh, 'I'll put it in my diary!'

They continued their walk with light conversation passed between the pair, stopping at the turn that would lead to the Ravenclaw common room, but continuing on towards the Gryffindor tower when Cullen had insisted on walking Katie the full way – 'A gentleman must always walk a lady home!' he had insisted.

'I guess I'll see you in potions tomorrow,' Katie said as she entered the portrait hole. 'Good night!'

'Night!' Cullen said before the portrait hole swung shut behind her, leaving him standing outside. 'Sweet dreams . . .'

**X**

'You do know that I'd have helped you with potions if you wanted, don't you?' Oliver asked as Katie closed the portrait of the Fat Lady behind her, causing her to jump a little as she had thought the room was empty.

'Oliver, don't do that!' she exclaimed, taking a few deep breaths to collect herself again before continuing. 'And yes, I do know. It's just that Cullen offered the help.'

'I see . . .'

'What's wrong?' She took a seat beside him on the sofa and stared into the dying ember of the fire in front of her.

'You're angry with me, aren't you,' he said. It wasn't a question, but a statement. He didn't give her a chance to comment on his statement before he continued. 'Saying sorry won't change anything now; what's done is done, I guess. But I'm sorry nonetheless, Katie. I know I was a complete asshole, but if you let me I'll make it up to you . . .'

Katie laughed. She knew that it wouldn't help the situation, but she couldn't help but erupt into a fit of laughter, muffled by the hand she had covered her mouth with as soon the first laugh at came out.

'Oliver,' she managed to gasp as soon her fit had subsided. 'I don't care about how you acted, I've already told you. I know it wasn't really your fault, and anyway, I ended up having a half-decent time with Cullen. My dad wasn't too pleased when we landed in my back garden, but that's beside the point. Cullen's helping me with potions because he's a friend, and he good at it, where as I as useless at it.'

'So, you forgive me?'

'Yes, I forgive you.'

'And you'll let me make it up to you?'

'That depends . . .'

'On . . .?'

'What your plans are.'

'Ah, but if I told you that it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?'

'Technically no, but I could act surprised . . . No?'

'Just keep Wednesday night free for me, okay?'

'Okay . . .'

* * *

**Okay, firstly, sorry for not updating sooner! Writers block and school work have been keeping me from writing. But Yay! Here it is. Chapter 9!**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;  
RubeusHagrid34  
Cinny75  
KristyT23  
everly  
cinroc**

**Now, a competition of such! xD What should Katie do? All idea's welcomed! And I shall use the one I like the most! xDD Be creative people! **

**Preview xD:  
'My life's messed up!' Katie signed, and rolled over on her bed only to find herself sprawled on the floor, her body aching from the impact of her fall. A small groan was let out before she decided that she didn't have the strength to get up – after all, it _had_ been a mentally tiring day.**

**Happy Wednesday everyone!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven_

_**John Milton**_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

'How can I be in two places at once?' Katie found herself asking Helena as soon as she arrived in her, otherwise empty, dormitory.

'Why do you need to be in two places?' she replied casually, not moving from her bed where she was currently reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly. Her eyes didn't venture off the page as she spoke, so if it wasn't for her question, chances are that she wouldn't have acknowledged Katie's presence.

'Because I made plans to study with Cullen on Wednesday, and Oliver's just told me to keep Oliver free, and I don't know what I should do; study with a friend, or go out with my boyfriend!' Katie said in one breath, them calmed down a little. 'Help me . . .' She fell dramatically onto her bed, causing Helena to put down her magazine and address the problem at hand.

'Well, that way I see it, there's three options; study with Cullen as planned, and risk Oliver getting angry, as well as most likely jealous, and risk ruining your relationship – that is if Oliver will get angry over something so stupid. Or, you can go with Oliver, making him happy, but Cullen might lose some repeat in you and think of you as Oliver's puppet; ready to drop everything on his command.'

'And the third option?' Katie asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

'Don't do either. Neither will be ecstatic, but chances are that they will both be at least satisfied because you're not spending the night with the other.'

'So my choices are "A", keep Cullen happy, but risk looking Oliver, "B", keep Oliver happy, but risk Cullen losing all respect in me, or "C", spend the night alone?'

'Pretty much.'

'My life's messed up!' Katie signed, and rolled over on her bed only to find herself sprawled on the floor, her body aching from the impact of her fall. A small groan was let out before she decided that she didn't have the strength to get up – after all, it _had_ been a mentally tiring day.

'Or there's option "D"!' Tania chimed from above me.

'How much did you hear?' Katie groaned, rolling over to get a clear view of Tania towering over her with a grin plastered over her face.

'Enough!' she simple stated with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

**X**

Wednesday morning came quicker than Katie would have liked, and she soon found herself waking up to a stream of sunlight rushing in through the windows as Tania threw the curtains open.

'Good morning!' she said in a singsong voice, directing her greeting Katie, who was now seeking refuge under her bed covers.

'Leave me alone!' Katie moaned, burying herself deeper into the bed.

'Get up, Katie!' Tania ordered – her tone of voice said that she was not to be messed with, but nonetheless –

'Why should I?' Katie shot back.

'Because it's "D Day"! Now I want to see you up and dressed within the next five minutes.'

'And if I'm not?'

'Then I won't hesitate to do it myself!'

Needless to say, Katie chose the first option.

**X**

'I still don't see why this was necessary,' Katie muttered half an hour later. She ran a hand through her carefully curled golden brown hair, which now, thanks to Tania, fell into perfect ringlets, inspecting them in the mirror.

'Don't you touch them!' Tania almost growled. 'And it's all part of the plan; it'll save you doing your hair later. I like to call it "Time Management".'

'Then what's with my skirt?' Katie asked, trying to pull her skirt down for the umpteenth time that morning to make it look more like a skirt and less like a belt.

'What's wrong with it?' Tania challenged, knowing well that Katie would not dare answer back this time.

'Nothing . . .'

**X**

'Katie?' Fred chocked as the two girls sat down in front of them for breakfast. He surveyed her up and down before she sat down, his eyes lingering on her just a split seconds longer that they should have. She noticed.

'That's my name!' she replied happily, choosing to ignore the look he gave her and she grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit nearby, which earned her a smile from Tania.

'What happened?!' George asked bluntly, spraying half of his mouthful of pancakes across the table; some habits never die.

'What do you mean?' Tania challenged, jumping to Katie's defence quickly.

'That she looks very nice today,' he replied cautiously, waiting for Tania's look of approval at his answer before exhaling the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

'Has Helena already been down?' Katie asked, looking around for her friend.

'Yeah. She just left before you arrived; said something about finishing homework in the library,' Fred replied.

'Morning,' a groggy quidditch captain greeted as he slid into the bench between the twins. 'Good news; no torture session tonight.'

'Aww, thanks Oliver!' Fred exclaimed mockingly, enveloping Oliver in a large, bone crunching hug, which seemed to be inherited from his mother.

'That's nice of you, Oliver. What's the occasion?' George said with an over-exaggerated wink, which succeeded in causing Katie to turn a shade of bright red that any Weasley would be proud of.

Oliver, however, merely chuckled, casting a quick glance in Katie directing which seemed to answer George's question. His eyes quickly darted back to Katie, lingering on her for longer than she was comfortable with.

'Something wrong?' she asked innocently with a small, almost childlike smile.

'No. . .' he stuttered. 'Nothing wrong.'

She couldn't help but laugh at his lack of words, and her friends joined in with her. It was Oliver's turn to turn bright red – a feat not easily achieved.

'Err . . . Katie, can I talk to you,' Oliver finally managed to say. 'Outside.'

The couple walked side-by-side out of the Great Hall, and out through the main doors. It was a chilly morning, and Katie made a mental note to scold Tania for the lack of warm clothes she allowed Katie to wear.

'You look . . . different?' he started, unsure of how to word it, as he lead her towards a large stone not far from the shores of the lake. He laid his outer robes on the stone, before the pair sat down.

'Thanks?' Katie replied. 'I'm guessing that that was supposed to be a complement.'

'I think it was,' he said quietly, and it seemed that he was deciding how to approach the subject he wanted to talk about. 'Did you notice the attention you got when we walked out – male attention?' he asked her, his voice cracking a little as he did so.

'No, I can't say I did.'

'Well there was some – a lot.'

'Jealous?' Her question was supposed to be innocent, but judging by how his brow furrowed as she spoke it had been taken as anything but.

'Jealousy? That's what you think my main problem is, at the minute? Okay, I will admit that it may play a minor play, but for the most part it is a problem that is a bit more serious, and a lot less mental.'

'Less mental?' she questioned, before thinking over what he had just said. 'Oh!' she exclaimed a few minutes later, her eyes lighting up in understanding before her cheeks became tinted in pink for the second time that morning. 'Shit! I'm going to _kill_ Tania!'

'So I'd be right in guessing that the outfit this morning was of her doing?' he asked, receiving a curt nod as an answer. 'Remind me to thank her later,' he told her with a mischievous smile.

She hit him playfully on the arm, pouting like a four year old and crossing her arms across her chest to show her disapproval at his comment.

'Don't do that, Katie,' he exclaimed, looking away from her. 'It's torture in its finest form.' His tone softened as he spoke again. 'Are we still on for tonight?'

'Of course,' Katie replied, laughing as if it was the most pointless question in the world.

'Good, because I have something special planned.'

'That's good to know. See you at lunch, I guess,' she said, standing up and starting to walk away.

'Oh, and Katie!' Oliver called after her.

'Yeah?' she called back, spinning around to face him.

'In case I don't see you, could you do me a favour an let Tania dress you for tonight?'

* * *

**Right! So I posted a little later than planned, but I posted nonetheless xD**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;  
Cinny75  
cinroc  
****freshwaterplimpies**  
**ashley  
****KristyT23**

**So I was going to add more, but then I thought that I should post it and put the rest in another chapter, because it seemed like a good place to stop there. Reviews anyone? A virtual hug for anyone who pressed that little blue button xD**


	11. Chapter 11

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Truth springs from argument amongst friends_

_**David Hume**_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

'Meet you after dinner in the library?' Cullen asked Katie as they walked out of Charms, their last class of the day.

'About that . . .' Katie started; trailing off as she carefully chose her next words. 'I kinda have to meet Oliver . . .'

'Ah. Oliver,' he repeated, his face emotionless like a smoothly carved stone. 'That would explain today's outfit,' he said quietly, his eyes quickly glancing at her modified newly uniform. 'To be honest, I thought more of you, Katie.'

'What?! Look, Cullen, you've got it wrong.'

'Then why are you dressed like a whore?!' His words were louder that he had anticipated and caused heads to turn in their direction.

'So that's what you think I am? Just some whore. I thought you were my friend.' Her words were quiet, but filled with so much venom. 'I guess I was wrong . . .'

Before her words could sink in she had turned around and was walking in the opposite direction, not bothering to try and maneuver around the small crowd that had formed, but decided to plow a path through the middle of them.

By the time she arrived at the portrait hole her anger still hadn't left. Instead it seemed to have multiplied during the time she had to think, as she had decided that she was not at fault.

'Courage,' she snapped at the fat lady, earning her a reproachful look from the portrait, but still succeeding in getting the portrait whole opened nonetheless.

The common room was still quite quiet as most of the students were still roaming the halls or the grounds. The only source of noise seemed to be the twins, who were stilling around a table in a darkened corner, whispering frantically amongst themselves. Usually curiosity would have caused Katie to walked over and see what they were talking about, but for the first time she didn't feel up to it and instead decided to head up to her dormitory, hoping to find it empty.

It wasn't.

Her two other roommates, Alice and Vivien, neither of which particularly liked Katie, scurried out at the sight of Katie, neither wanting to be in the way of the girl when she was in a bad mood. She assumed that Tania and Helena had already went straight to dinner from their last class as they were no where to be seen and, instead of looking for them as the logical part of her mind told her to do, just this once she decided to wallow in her own self pity.

Throwing herself melodramatically onto her bed, Katie let out a few tears before she threw her head into the pillow and let the full wailing commence.

It was in this position that Helena and Tania found her ten minutes later, having just finished an early dinner as Katie had presumed. By now, Katie had started punching the edged of the pillow; careful to miss her head, letting her imagination put Cullen's head in place of the pillow. Stress relief, the muggles called it, but it just seemed to make her feel worse, having severally injured a friend, even if it was only in her mind.

'Katie?' Helena said hesitantly and quietly as her friend became silent. Slowly, the two girls advanced on the third. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah,' Katie replied. Her reply was muffled by the pillow and didn't hide how she was feeling, but it was comprehensible nonetheless.

'What happened, Katie?' Tania asked softly, in a voice that a mother would use when talking to a child right after a tantrum. She sat down beside Katie and took one of her hands in her own, rubbing her thumb over the back of her hand in a motion that was supposed to me calming.

'He called me a whore . . .' Katie whispered, though it wasn't clear whether she was answering Tania's question, or merely talking to herself. As she spoke she gradually sat up and her two friends could clearly notice that her eyes were slightly red and bloodshot from crying, but decided that it would be best not to comment.

'Who called you a whore?' Tania persisted, only realising after the words had left her mouth that it would have been better if she had not repeated the word.

'Cullen,' was all she got in reply.

Helena couldn't help but let out a small gasp, knowing how close the pair had grown since Christmas, but Tania looked quite smug.

'I knew it,' she announced before deciding to elaborate after seeing the puzzled looks on her friends' faces. 'Cullen's jealous.'

'I don't quite see where you're coming from,' Helena said, trying to process the statement.

'It's obvious! Cullen's jealous of Oliver because he got the girl he wanted. Then, when he saw Katie today in a new light it made him realise it. Of course, when Katie had to cancel their study session it made him realise that Katie was Oliver's girl, and not his, and I'm guessing that the only semi-logical thing he could think of doing was insulting her.'

'You really do think too much.'

'It was all in my plan. You'd have understood if you even bothered to listen,' Tania shot back.

'No offence, Tania, but I think he was right,' Katie said quietly, running a hand thought her curled hair, that had taken Tania the better part of an hour. 'I _do_ look like a whore.'

'What did Oliver have to say in the matter?' Tania said, certain that Katie would not be allowed to win the argument.

'He said to let you dress me tonight,' she mumbled, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she spoke.

'My point has been proven. Now, shall we start of tonight's outfit, or would you rather we went to the kitchen first and get some food inside you.'

'No. No food,' Katie answered quickly. 'Those idea's you're planting in my head are making me sick.'

'Then I guess it's make-over time.'

**X**

It wasn't until almost eight O'clock that Tania had deemed Katie 'presentable', after the painfully long process of firstly deciding colour, then finally deciding on an outfit. This process was repeated quite a few times until they found what Tania dubbed 'The One'.

It was a simple black knee length dress with silver Celtic designed embroidered in the hems. She wore a pair of silver pumps to match, deciding against heels since Tania said, rather bluntly, that she was already too tall. Her ringlets were pinned back with a few silver hairpins, with a few coming loose in the front to frame her face.

'My work here is done!' Tania announced, stepping away from Katie, some spare hairpins in her hand.

'Wow.' Helena looked up from the homework she was currently doing, shocked at the transformation that had occurred in front of her eyes.

'How do I look?' Katie asked, unsure if there reactions were good or bad.

'Like a queen!' Helena replied with a laugh.

'Thanks. I guess I'll see you later.'

She left the dormitory is silence and walked carefully down the stairs, determined that this time, when she saw Oliver, she would not fall.

_Don't fall, _she kept repeating in her mind. _Just go one step at a time. Right. Left. Right. Left._

Sooner that she expected, she found herself at the foot of the stairs and, for the second time that day, heads turned in her direction, mouths opened in the shock of seeing the tomboy dressed up. Silence covered the common room for a minute before Oliver approached her, dressed smartly in a muggle suit. He offered her his arm, which she gladly took, and the pair turned towards the portrait hole.

Just before they had escaped the common room the magical silence was broken with a wolf whistle from one of the far corners. After that, the usual babble filled the room, but was cut off as the door closed behind them.

* * *

**Another chapter. Woah. A whole eleven! xD Hope you liked it.**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;  
**theessenceofmurtlap  
Cinny75  
cinroc  
heyyodude

**Preview  
**_**'**He gave a single white rose charmed to stop it wilting before telling me that he'd love only stop loving when the rose starts to wilt . . .'_


	12. Chapter 12

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_True friendship can afford true knowledge. It does not depend on darkness and ignorance_

**_Henry David Thoreau_**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_Hand-in-hand, the couple walked across the vast lawn, the silvery moonlight illuminating everything within reach, but it was otherwise dark. A single owl could be heard hooting from somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, breaking the blanket of silence that was spread across the wide grounds of the school that night. A light was on in Hagrid's cabin and a light trail of smoke could be made out coming from the chimney. It was perfect._

_When they reached the edge of the lake their walking slowed, as they headed slowly towards the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. They stopped just outside it._

_'Are you sure about this?' Katie asked, the fear prominent in her voice._

_'Of course I am; trust me,' Oliver replied coolly, squeezing her hand for support before leading the way in. 'I got Hagrid to help me out.'_

_'Whoa . . .' Katie said with a gasp as they entered a small clearing lit with a mixture of the little moonlight that filtered through the canopy of leaves overhead and he warm glow of many floating candles around the edges. In the centre sat a small table that would just be big enough for the two to sit comfortable, along with two comfortable-looking, matching chairs._

_'Mr Wood, I do believe you have class,' Katie said with a small laugh as he held the chair out for her to sit down. He took a seat across from her as soon as she was seated before lifting the lid off the single platter that sat in the middle of the table revealing a large plate of spaghetti bolognaise._

_'And very cliché' she added before they tucked in._

_When the candles were almost down to the wick, the young couple rose once again and made their way back up to the castle, laughing and joking as they did so. They atmosphere between them was relaxed, which was a strong contrast between the awkwardness of their conversation earlier that day._

_As they entered the castle their talking stopped as they crept around corners so as to avoid Filch, evil-caretaker extraordinaire. Katie had to struggle to control the fits of giggles that longed to be released, as scenes from muggle crime films came to her head._

_Luckily, the pair made it back to the Common Room with only one close shave with Mrs Norris, but otherwise unharmed._

_'I got you something,' Oliver said quietly as he led her to the staircase to the girls' dormitory. He put a hand in his blazer pocket and extracted a single red rose, which he presented her with. 'I charmed it to stop it wilting,' he told her, before adding. 'When the rose starts to wilt, you'll know I've stopped loving you.'_

_'Goodnight, Oliver,' she said, her cheeks slightly pink._

_''Night.'_

**X**

Early morning sunlight spilled through the windows as Tania threw the curtains opened, awakening Katie in the process, as she had to deceitfully planned to.

'Good morning!' she announced with a smile plastered to her face and a bright glow around her.

'What time is it?' Katie groaned, following the example of her other roommates and diving under the covers for protecting from the sun.

'Seven O'clock,' Tania announced.

'Then why did you wake me?'

'Because you have class today, silly.'

With one last groan, Katie threw the bedclothes off the bed and onto the floor, before tumbling off the bed only to land on them with a muffled 'thump' as they broke her fall.

'Very graceful,' Tania muttered, before bussing herself in the bathroom with a final touch to her already perfect hair.

'All right. I'm up. Now what do you want?' Katie asked bluntly, deciding that it would be better not to beat around the bush this early in the morning.

'Nothing,' Tania said feigning innocence, before trying to sound casual as she added, 'How did last night go?'

'See, I knew you wanted something.'

'Are you going to tell us, or not?' Helena asked, bounding quickly out of bed thanks to her newfound interest in her friends love life.

'Fine . . .'

**X**

Breakfast turned out to be quite a long affair that morning, and that's not just because Katie was down early for once, thanks to Tania's wake-up call. It seemed that everyone in Gryffindor knew about Katie and Oliver's late-night escapade, and none of them were as nice as Tania had been when talking about the subject, deciding it was a good time to gossip about Hogwarts new hottest couple, when half of the pair was sitting a few seats away.

Her friends were no better, deciding to bring the topic up as she sat down, with the exception of a grumpy looking Fred who sat in silence, toying with his eggs.

She was glad to leave for potions that morning, as it seemed like a sanctuary. Away from the giggles and gossip of the Great Hall, and into Snape's uncomfortably silent classroom filled with so many potions fumes it's a surprise it isn't filled with drug addicts looking to get high.

'Hey,' Katie greeted Cullen as she slide into her usual seat in front of him. The classroom was quite empty as she was uncharacteristically ealy.

'Morning,' Cullen replied coldly, taking out his potions equipment. 'Have a good time last night?' He sneered as he spoke; a trait that didn't suit his boyish looks, nor his usually kind personality.

'Yes, I did,' she replied politely, deciding to ignore the sarcasm in his voice.

**'**That's nice to know.'

For a few minutes they sat in silence before Katie decided to break it.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered.

'For what?'

'For cancelling on you last night. I know we'd made our plans to study first, but with me and Oliver it's kind of complicated. You have to understand that I don't get to see Oliver a lot, because we're always in different classes and then he's studying for his NEWTs.'

'You don't have to explain yourself,' Cullen told her, at which her features lit up with the hope that he understood. 'You've made your choice. It's quite simple really; the typical "girl has to choose between two boys". Every time she chooses the devilishly handsome one. It's never the caring best friend that loves them more than life itself is it? But I guess that's life.'

'What are you tying to say?' Katie asked slowly as everything sunk in.

'I'm the best friend, Katie,' he replied, his voice showing hints that he was feeling distressed. 'I love you, Katie Bell, but I lost you. I lost you to one of the people I grew up hating simply because he always got the girl others wanted. Kind of ironic that it happened to me in the end, I guess. I just hope he treats you as well as you deserve to be treated, Katie.'

'Cullen . . . I –'Katie began, but he cut her off before she could go any further.

'Don't sorry about it. We can still be friends.'

_I hope._

* * *

**So I realised I never put a disclaimed up, so here goes.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm just a puppetter for the most part in someone elses world xD**

**Anyway; everyone saw 'Awww...' Poor Cullen xD You don't know how hard it is to write hi like that when I actually love his character xDD**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;  
**Cinny75  
KristyT23  
RadicalReason  
scholarlydimwit  
theessenceofmurtlap

**_Until nextime; Adieu. _Au Revoir. Slan. Sayonara. xD**


	13. Chapter 13

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_I've always said that in politics, your enemies can't hurt you, but your friends will kill you_

_**Ann Richards**_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Winter seemed to change quickly into Spring over the course of just one night, and it seemed like in the blink of an eye the snow had melted, bringing forth the early blooming flowers and lush, greenery all around the castle's vast grounds. Along with spring came Easter, which, although meant a refreshing break from classes, it also meant that exam time was coming closer for everyone in the school.

Cullen had refused to utter a single word to Katie unless absolutely necessary since the day in potions, and even then he would keep his words to a minimum despite her constant attempts to spark a conversation with him. She couldn't help but think that he was behaving very childishly and immature, and as the holidays approached decided that it would be better to just give up on him and start spending more time concentrating on the upcoming end of year exams. Thankfully, her friends were supportive of her decision, Fred especially, and said that they would stand firmly behind her with every step.

It wasn't until the first day of the Easter holidays that Katie came face-to-face with her friend – she had yet to start calling him a former-friend as deep inside she still had hope for repairing their friendship, despite the harsh words she had shared against him with her friends.

She was heading towards the lake in the grounds of Hogwarts, after leaving Oliver off at the gates as he headed home along with over half of the students in the school. Katie, on the other hand, had decided to stay as staying at Hogwarts would be a more relaxing than spending it at home with a house full of visiting family 24/7.

Despite the emptiness, Hogwarts was noisier that ever, especially the Common Rooms, with people filled with the Christmas spirit, and with the twins testing their new inventions on unsuspecting victims it was unsafe to roam the corridors alone. The only other alternative Katie found was to wander around outside, her favourite spot by the shores of the lake was her destination.

It was a cold spring that year, so the winter woollies were yet to be discarded; instead, many students had taken to wearing them under their school robes for protection against the harsh winds that blew through the corridors from every draught, cutting any uncovered piece of flesh like a knife.

Outside it was peacefully quiet, and Katie walked slowly across the dew-ridden lawn, the water seeping into her canvas trainers, which had proven many-a-time that they weren't the best shoes to wear on a wet day.

'Shit,' she whispered as a small puddle of dew began to form inside her shoes as she continued to walk, and, it turns out, this is not a very pleasant condition to walk in.

Eventually she stopped by her favourite spot in the shade of a large chestnut tree that was currently in full bloom, sending the sweet scent of its blossom everywhere in the cool, morning breeze. However, much to Katie's displeasure, she found that herself watching her "friend" whisper, what she could only presume was, sweet-nothings into the ear of the uncharacteristically ditzy Ravenclaw in her year.

_Stay or go?_ She contemplated this in silence, deciding against making her presence known to make an easy exit much easier.

Go, she finally decided and proceeded to back up slowly and quietly. Unfortunately, it's common knowledge that when you want a silent exit, in almost all cases, exactly the opposite happened, and this is no exception.

Before she could blink, Katie found herself sprawled out on the ground after having tripped over the roots of a tree that had surfaced. A thump that was disproportionate to the size of the girl was made, followed by some unpleasant-sounding groaning – enough noise to wake the dead.

'Katie?'

Katie slowly lifted her head in a vain attempt to avoid the inevitable headache that was to be a consequence of her fall. 'Yes?' she said groggily, dropping her head to the hard ground again after failing to catch a glimpse of who was talking, causing another groan to be released.

'Are you okay?'

'Do I look okay?' she snapped back.

'No worse than usual,' the voice replied with a laugh. She knew that laugh.

'Cullen?' she said hesitantly, trying to prop herself up, and this time succeeding.

'The one and only.'

'Talking to me again?'

'When did I stop?'

'A few months ago, actually; not long after you called me a whore.' Her voice sounded venomous, as she was prepared to blow the whole thing out of proportion, in her favour of course, in an attempt to cause her friend the most discomfort as possible before forgiving him.

'About that. . . I'm sorry.'

'Took you're time realising it, didn't you?'

'I was stupid, Katie. I was childish. I was . . . jealous.'

'I guessed that much.' Her voice was cold and emotionless, showing none of her true emotions, unlike the eyes, which he refused to look at; an action that hadn't gone unnoticed by Katie.

'The thing it, it kills me a little inside, every day we're not talking; it's torture, when I know that it's all my fault. I inflicted pain on myself in an attempt to stop more pain in the long run, but it's not worth it anymore. I _need_ you, Katie, more that you can understand. I need your friendship.'

Silence fell between the pair as both were left to their thoughts. His words hit the girl hard; harder that he's planned, leaving her wondering if she had played a part in this "torture" as he had called it. Sure, she had given up trying to solve the problem, but was she the cause as well?

Out of the corner of her eye, Katie spotted something that didn't belong in the scene; a head of yellow-blond hair that belong to neither of the pair, along with a tight-fitting and clingy Ravenclaw-blue sweater.

'Your whore's waiting on you,' Katie finally said, her voice low, concealing the fact that inside, those five words she had just said had just killed _her_ a little inside and she seemed to destroy the bond between them once again; whether for better or worse, who knew?

'Katie, don't do this,' he pleaded, his face showing that he knew what she was doing; his eyes showing the pain he was going through at her simple selection of words.

She ignored him.

* * *

_**0 Shocker! xD That killed me to write; Katie was soooo cruel there, like kicking a puppy in the face, only not as inhuman  
**_

_**Much ****appreciation**** to my very wonderful reviewers! You guys seriously rock!  
**heyyodude  
theessenceofmurtlap  
Cinny75_

_**Nooow xD Reviews welcome hint hint Took me a little longer to update that planned and tis shorter than anticipated, but in my defence I have a module coming up during the week xD Though, I shall update ASAP!**_

_**Over and out.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of_

**_Blaise Pascal_**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

The upcoming Gryffindor and Ravenclaw quidditch match was all the students of Hogwarts were talking about as soon as the holidays had ended and classes had restarted. Gossip about the nerves of certain members of both teams was flying about the school as fast as physically possible, which proved to be very fast. It was an epidemic.

It was this wave of gossip that finally sent Katie Bell over the edge with just under a week until the big match.

'Oliver,' Katie said placidly as she sat down in front of him at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. 'Please tell me that the rumours that you've, at the last minute, substituted me for a first year who has yet to learn to fly are completely, _one _hundred percent false!'

'Katie, is that all that's bothering you?' Oliver asked, while trying hard as he resisted the urge to laugh at how his girlfriend's nerves seemed to be affecting her.

'Is that all?' she repeated in disbelief. 'A _first year_! Didn't you hear me? FIRST YEAR!'

'Hey Oliver, I told Claire what time practice's at tonight. Actually, I told her to come a little early, after all we still have to teach her to fly – on a broomstick anywas,' Fred said, sitting down beside Katie.

'What?' Katie asked in a tone that would tell most people not to mess with the girl, as she clearly wasn't amused. But since when is Fred Weasley most people?

'Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there, Katie. How's you?' Fred asked as he piled a few pancakes onto his plate before drowning them in maple syrup.

'How am I? Well, to be honest, I'm so close to killing on of my best friends it's actually quite scary. But aside from that, I'm great, Fred. How are you?' Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

'I'd hate to be your friend; they sound like they're in some serious trouble. I'm fantastic, thanks for asking. Must dash, though, or else I'll be late for Transfiguration. Toodles!'

And Fred was gone before a gob smacked could recover from his words and do some serious injury. At least this way he had time to plan a way to avoid her until she had cooled down.

'Did he just say what I think he just said?' Katie eventually asked.

'I think he just did,' Oliver replied.

**X**

Quidditch practice that night was a nervous affair, with an air of apprehension hanging over the team. The team were extra careful with keeping Katie and Fred apart, usually at the safe distance of opposite ends of the pitch, mostly thanks to Oliver's idea of training the chasers on one end, beaters on the other, while the seeker chased the snitch across the whole pitch. This arrangement seemed to work out well.

'Throw the ball faster!' Oliver shouted at Alicia as, once again, he had saved her shot. 'And try and add a bit of curve.'

With his constant criticism, despite the fact that he meant well with it, Oliver almost had his three chasers in tears by the time he allowed them to set both feet on solid land and head into the changing rooms for a well-earned shower.

'Was I a little harsh tonight?' Oliver asked Katie as they walked together towards the changing rooms.

'Just a little . . .' she replied meekly, but with a raise of his eyebrow Katie quickly changed her answer. 'Okay, you were a complete dictator with us tonight.'

'Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous,' he replied.

'Why? We have the best team. What's there to be nervous about?'

'Don't tell the rest of them, but there's a few scouts for quidditch teams coming to the match.' He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his already messy hair.

'Don't worry about it, Oliver. You'll knock their socks off!' Katie said with an encouraging smile that seemed to lift his heart. 'Now excuse me for a few moments.'

Leaving Oliver with his thoughts, Katie disappeared into the girls' section of the changing rooms and proceeded on into the showering section.

As the hot water beat against her bare back, each droplet causing a slight sting, Katie allowed herself to wonder about the future – about _her_ future. Would Oliver still be there when she was still at Hogwarts, and he was a famous quidditch player with hordes of fan girls bowing at his feet, worshipping the ground he walked on? She wanted to tell herself that her Oliver would never leave her, but that was part of her worries. _Her_ Oliver would never leave her, she was certain of that, but whose to say that Oliver wouldn't change? He mightn't be her Oliver, and that thought was scarier that him leaving her.

**X**

'Is that seat taken?'

'Nope.'

'Can I sit there?'

'I don't know; _can_ you?'

'Katie, please cut the bullshit and talk to me! I already said I was sorry.' Despite her frosty reply, Cullen decided to take the seat across from Katie at the small table in the back of the library. Over half of the table was covered with a large pile of books, some without titles and others that looked as if a dangerous potion or two had been split on top of them.

'Are you planning on reading all of these?' he asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

'Nope,' was her simple reply.

'Then why do you have them, might I ask?'

'Oliver left them; he'll be back soon for them – he had to get something from the common room first.'

'Oh. Am I sitting in his seat?'

'Nope. He was sitting there,' she replied, motioning vaguely towards the seat beside her. 'He's helping me with potions, you know.'

'So I've heard; the whole school knows what you two get up to.'

'I know. Though fun at first, I quickly found that it was rather annoying – everyone knowing about the most insignificant details of your life, and them being blown out of proportion.'

'Sounds dreadful.'

'It is.'

'What happened to the Katie I used to know?' His voice was softer that usual as he spoke, and for the first time in a long time he looked her in the eye.

'She grew up when no one was looking,' Katie answered, looking straight into his eyes as well, an action which helped her believe that he was truly sorry for the harsh words he had shed so long ago. She'd forgiven him the moment he's said them, but it had taken her this long to realise that she had. 'I'm sorry . . .' she whispered.

'For what?'

'Everything. I was a cruel, heartless bitch, and I'm not proud of it. To be honest, if I could change my actions then I would, but I can't, so I'm stuck with the repercussions, but this is one thing I can still fix.'

'Katie –'

'No, let me finish. When you told me how you felt, I will admit that I freaked out a little –'

'But Katie –'

'I said let me finish! But it made me realise that deep down I've always loved you as well, in a way –'

'Katie!'

'What?!'

'I came for my books . . .'

* * *

_**Awwwwkward. xD Well ain't I good, updating sooo quickly 'cause I was in a good mood after meh test - How often do you hear someone saying that?? xD  
**_

_**And now my reviews, who**** seriously rock!  
**heyyodude  
theessenceofmurtlap  
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_**Right. So I'm feeling extra mean today with this extra small teaser. Enjoy!:**_

_" 'So that's all I am; a screw up?' "  
_


	15. Chapter 15

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it_

_**Lewis Carroll**_

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_'I came for my books . . .'_

Those words rang around the almost empty library, or were they just inside Katie's ears? Either way, it was a few minutes before the full impact of the scene hit her and as soon as it did she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

'Am I interrupting something?' Oliver asked.

'No, it's nothing!' Cullen replied too quickly, his voice cracking as he spoke. In his nervousness, the boy had made the innocent conversation seem like much more despite the lack of words he had used.

'I'll just take my books and be gone,' Oliver said, picking up a large pile from the table. 'I guess I'll see you later, Katie,' he said before turning and walking away without further acknowledgement of the boy sitting in front of her.

'Shit,' Katie whispered repeatedly under her breath, banging her head against the book that was currently opened beneath her. 'I screw up biiiig time!'

'So that's all I am; a screw up?' Cullen asked with a cheeky smile.

'It's not funny!' Katie moaned, throwing the nearest object she could find at him, which turned out to be a quill Oliver had left behind him in his hurry to leave. 'I've got to go.'

'No,' Cullen said quickly, grabbing her wrist as she began to rise from the table. '_I'll_ go. I shouldn't have came here, anyway; it was a stupid idea.' His grip on her wrist didn't falter; it was as if he didn't want to let go for fear of loosing her.

'I was leaving anyway,' Katie told him, looking straight at her wrist with his hand curled possessively around it, gripping it loosely but still tight enough so that she couldn't free her arm. His stare followed hers before quickly darting up to lock eyes with her in a gaze that pooled their emotions together. He _saw_ the pain flicker across her eyes, before being replaced with confusion; the anxiousness of not knowing what to do next, of how helpless she felt inside.

'I've got to go,' she repeated, pulling her arm out of his grip with more force that necessary and she had fled the library before he could even blink. Scattered untidily across the large table were her belongings – books, quills and parchment. Carefully, he piled her possessions and put them into the bag she had abandoned beside her chair, before slinging it over his shoulder along with his and, ignoring the stares he was getting from the other occupants of the library, left in silence.

**X**

The next morning Katie awoke, still fully-clothed after collapsing on top of her bed as soon as she arrived in her dormitory. Thankfully, someone had been nice enough to cover her sleeping self with the sheets of the bed below her, though how they managed to get them from under her she had no idea. A slight pounding headache greeted her that morning, thanks to one of her roommates alarm blaring at the early hour; a shrill sound that went straight thought her head.

'Turn it off!' she mumbled, rolling over to go back to sleep only to find herself rolling straight off her bed; an action that didn't help cure her headache, but done the reverse.

'Morning, Katie!' Tania's shins greeted, before she extended an arm to help Katie get back up. 'Isn't is a great day?'

'What'd they put in your cereal?' Katie questioned, stifling a yawn as she did so, catching a look at a clock that told her it was already half nine; she'd slept in.

'Nothing, silly! It just so happens that I've got a good feeling about today,' her friend replied, before racing off into the bathroom to add the finishing touches to her already perfect make-up.

_Great!_ Katie thought. _How is it that she can be ready before I can even get up?? It's unnatural._

It took Katie a few minutes to remember what day it was. Saturday. And Saturday meant –

'The quidditch match. Shit!'

Suddenly more awake that seconds before, Katie found herself throwing herself under her bed to search the cramped space for her quidditch robes, having flung them under there that last time she had been wearing them. With only half a hour until the match, she didn't have the time to search for a fresh pair.

'Aha!' she yelled elatedly as she resurfaced, holding up a scarlet ball of material that was her quidditch robes in triumph, before racing out of the dormitory and through the portrait hall in record time and sliding around corners in her endeavour to reach the changing rooms in time. She received a few odd stares from passers-by, who were walking idly in the direction of the quidditch pitch.

With ten minutes to spare, Katie raced into the changing rooms to find that Oliver had already started his pre-match pep-talk, the rest of the team sitting calmly on benches doing their usual pre-match routine, all clad in their scarlet robes.

'You're late,' was all Oliver said as she raced past into the girls changing quarters and forced the robes over her head, submerging her world in a mass of scarlet. Minutes later she resurfaced to the room the rest of the team were currently in, battling with her hair to try and pull it into a tight ponytail.

'Slept in,' she murmured before joining Angelina and Alicia on a bench.

'Alright,' Oliver said to get attention before he addressed the team. 'This is a big match, and I don't just mean that this match could decide who wins the cup. There's a few scouts out there, watching me – watching _us_. Now Fred and George, they're _not_ targets, remember that. Stick to bludgers aims at Ravenclaws. Thomas, just try and catch the snitch as soon as possible. Alicia, concentrate of speed, and Angelina, accuracy. Let's go out there and kick some Ravenclaw ass!'

The team let out a cheer as Oliver unusually positive words, with the exception of a brunette in the corner, who just tried her best to look happy along with her teammates. The team began to file out onto the pitch, and Katie found herself standing alone in the changing room with Oliver watching her curiously from the exit.

'You coming?' he said with a jerk of his head towards the quidditch pitch outside.

'Yeah,' she replied quietly, walking slowly towards the exit.

'Oh, and Katie,' he said as she was about to step into the sunlight, causing her to turn her head around with a questioning eyebrow raised. 'Good luck.'

_**

* * *

**_

Ain't I good. Another update so soon! You cant thank me with reviews hint! xD Okay, seriously, I would like to know what you think! Hope you liked that chapter. I'm not too sure about it myself; though I must apologise for Katie's everywhereness, but for the record she is kinda messed up inside at the minute xDDD I guess I'll update again sometime soon,considering the chapters already written; it's quite a bit longer, you'll be happy to hear!

_**And now my reviews, who**** seriously rock!  
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_**Teeeaser time! **_

_" He was probably out celebrating somewhere in the other end of the castle, not sparing her a second thought as she had nearly cost them the game. "_


	16. Chapter 16

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens_

**_Carl Jung_**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Greeted with the deafening sound cheering, Katie found herself standing on the quidditch pitch, feeling quite small compared to those sitting at the tops of the raised stands, however that was all about to change. With the blow of a whistle that she could barely hear over the crowd, Katie kicked off the hard ground and flew upwards, breaking through the air like a knife thought butter. The wind whipped her ponytail around playfully as she speed, getting into the rhythm of flying before speeding after the quaffle.

'Bennet with the quaffle; he shoots and. . . Nice save Wood!'

Lee Jordan's voice was amplified across the whole pitch, being drown out by a series of cheers from Gryffindor supporters dressed in the customary red and gold; the house colours.

Katie couldn't help but smile as the symphonic sound of the cheering reached her ears – a sound she lived for – before the quaffle was ruthlessly thrown at her by Oliver, winding her as it hit her in the stomach with a large force, but she managed to keep hold of it nonetheless. Flying as fast as her broom would go, Katie headed towards the Ravenclaw hoops, quaffle tucked safely under her arm.

'Bell dodges the keeper and SCORES!!'

A wave of cheer erupted from the crowd as a Mexican wave of colour was sent around the stands; first a deep red then a magnificent gold. Katie couldn't help but celebrate with the crowd for a moment; after all she had just scored the first goal of the match. However, her celebration was to be short-lived.

A gasp quickly replaced the cheering, for a reason that was unknown to Katie, and the crowd seemed to be staring at something behind her. Swiftly, yet gracefully she turned in time to see a large bludger moving rapidly in her direction, creating a whistling sound as it speed through the air like a bullet ready to kill. As she raked her mind for what to do next – an action, _any_ action – she found it strangely blank and almost foggy. And then, with a sickening crunch and an acute stab of pain being sent to every muscle Katie found everything going black as she started falling. Falling downwards towards the ground that quickly got swallowed up by the same nothingness that had swallowed her.

**X**

Cautiously, she opened one eyelid, which took more effort that usually necessary as they felt as if there were stuck together with super glue, or even cement. As her eye opened, she was met with a blinding, sterilized white roof. The hospital wing. Deciding to risk falling victim to the wrath of Madam Pomfrey, Katie opened her other eye only to find herself face-to-face with George Weasley, who seemed to be hanging from the roof.

'She's alive!' George announced gleefully, and moved his head from her line of vision.

'Sod off, Weasley,' Katie mumbled, trying to burrow herself further under the warmth and protection of the covers.

'Not so fast, Bell,' another voice said, this time Alicia. 'You haven't even been troubled with the fact that you don't have the manners to greet us after we took time out of our busy schedules to check up on you, now, have you?'

'Fine,' the girl replied, sighing like a five-year-old in a strop. 'Thank you for visiting me. Happy?'

'Nope.' It was Fred this time, through the only reason she knew that was because he was the only person who would push her when she was in bad mood – everyone else caring too much for their own safety to do so.

'And why not?' she asked, her voice showing that she was clearly not interested in what he had to say.

'You never bothered to ask how the match turned out.'

Katie found herself sitting bolt upright on the bed and forcing out her words quicker that she could when she was healthy. 'How'd we do?' she demanded.

'See, _now_ she asks!' Angelina said with a laugh. 'But we won!' It finally registered in her mind that that was the quidditch team, except –

Looking around, Katie was disappointed to see that their captain was nowhere to be seen. He was probably out celebrating somewhere in the other end of the castle, not sparing her a second thought as she had nearly cost them the game.

'We put a third year – Kerry I think Alicia called her. Yeah, it was Kerry – in after your fall; she's not as good as you, of course, but she's can certainly fly, and we scraped a win,' George explained.

'He's not here,' Angelina quietly whispered to Katie so that the boys couldn't hear as she noticed her looking around the hospital wing for a certain someone.

'Oh,' was her wimple reply.

'Feel's terrible; he tried to save you, you know. Let in a goal as he flew across the pitch to try and catch you as you fell.'

'Tried?' Katie repeated, her voice barely a whisper.

'You were too far away – from everyone. Hit the ground pretty hard. I guess it was lucky that you weren't further up.' Angelina's voice was unusually placid, as if she was talking to an infant.

Katie replied with silence.

'Want me to tell him that you want to see him?' Alicia offered.

'No.'

'Want us to go?' she offered again.

'Would you be insulted if I did?'

'Not at all!' Angelina insisted quickly. 'No offence Katie, but you look like shit. You could do with some more sleep, which you probably won't get with these two gits around.' She motioned towards Fred and George, who were currently talking in hushed voices not far from the bed. 'We'll see you later.'

'Yeah, bye,' Alicia said, before the pair dragged one twin each out of the hospital wing, but not before waving one last time as they left thought the door.

Katie now found herself lying in bed in the uncomfortable silence that covered the hospital wing like a thick, woollen blanket. Looking around for something to distract her, Katie was met with nothing but industrial looking whiteness covering every surface, with not a spot of dirt visible – Madam Pomfrey's doing, she presumed.

Sleep seemed like the only thing that would quickly kill time, and Katie found herself quickly falling into a restless sleep.

**X**

_The fire in the Gryffindor Common Room was roaring, as it usually did, and Katie found herself snuggled up in an overly stuffed armchair in front of it, her feet outstretched towards the fire's warm glow. Behind her, she felt a strong set of arms envelope her into a hug that seemed to lift all the worries she had; it was as if school didn't matter, nor quidditch nor any other of the trivial things that had been occupying her thoughts too much recently. All that mattered was that moment in time._

_ 'Hey, Katie,' the owner of the arms said from behind her, resting his chin on top of her head before he inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent of strawberries that came from her shampoo. 'I've missed you.'_

_ 'It's only been an hour, Oliver,' Katie replied, giggling little as she did so._

_ 'I know, but it felt like longer,' he explained, tightening his grip around her a little more, showing how possessive he felt over her. 'You know that I love you, don't you?'_

And the scene changed before her eyes, the Common Room evaporating to reveal the Hogwarts grounds, which were coated in a thick layer of snow like a Christmas cake covered in fluffy, white icing.

_'Katie!' a voice called from behind a clump of trees not far away. She slowly began to make her away the snow-ridden grounds, which proved to be more difficult than it sounds. Taking awkward strides, it took Katie twice as long as it should have to make it to her destination, but when she got there she found what she was looking for._

_ 'Cullen!' Katie exclaimed, falling to the ground in front of her friend, who was currently sprawled out on the crimson-stained snow, a stain that was rapidly growing large. 'Cullen, what happened?' Her voice was frantic as she scanned quickly over his body looking for the source of the blood._

_ 'Don't b-blame him. . .' he managed to gasp; his breaths were uneven and more like gasps._

_ 'Don't blame who?' Katie was almost screaming now in her frustration to find what had happened. She grabbed his hand and entwined his fingers with hers, hoping to offer his a source of comfort by doing this._

_ 'Oliver,' he gasped. 'It's not his fault.' The few words he had spoken seemed to hurt, in more ways that one – judging by his expression he was in agony. His breaths were shallow now, and shorter that they should be. She could already see what was almost inevitably going to happen._

_ 'Don't give up, Cullen! Please,' Katie begged, tears trickling slowly down her cheeks. 'Just hang of and you'll be fine!'_

_ Slowly, he raised the hand that wasn't in hers and held it to her cheek, wiping away the tears that had already stained her face. 'I love you,' he whispered softly and slowly, before taking one last shallow breath._

Katie awoke with a start, the light covers of the hard hospital wing's bed twisted around her cold, sweat-drenched body. Her breaking was heavy as she stared at the white ceiling overhead trying to calm down. It was too real, and she kept seeing his cold, lifeless body when she blinked.

'_It didn't really happen_!' she kept telling herself.

'But it was so real . . .'

**_This chapter is dedicated to all those who've reviewed; who offer criticism, encouragement and the occasional make me quite conceited with their words of praise xD To the people who've supported me and helped me get this far; I'm usually a person who quits when I get bored, but you all offer me the motivation to write Thanks!!_**

**_And don't worry; it was only a dream_**

**_And now my reviews, who seriously rock!  
_**_heyyodude  
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	17. Chapter 17

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Truth springs from argument amongst friends_

**_David Hume:_**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Katie found herself spending the abnormally cold Sunday afternoon curled up in an armchair in front of the fire in the common room reading a chapter of her potions textbook for class the next day; for most classes she wouldn't have bothered reading, but would prefer guessing the questions flung at her, but when Snape was involved she couldn't take such a idle method, and with neither of her tutors in such a good mood with her she was on her own.

'Stupid potions!' she mumbled as she finished, throwing the book onto the ground below her feet, just metres from the fire. 'At least I only have one year left of it,' she told herself quietly, making herself a little happier, before turning and joining her friends in their conversation, which seemed to be about the quidditch match she was in the hospital wing for most of.

'Did you see me his that bludger at that Ravenclaw chaser?' George demanded, trying to keep make sure he was the centre of attention as he usually did.

'Can't say I did,' Katie answered, teasing him.

'Well it was outstanding, if I say so myself. Never saw a better hit – straight into the back of his head, not too hard, but I'm pretty sure he lost consciousness for a few seconds!'

'Long enough for me to steal the quaffle, anyway,' Alicia added. And from that they began telling Katie a step-by-step commentation, filling her in with every detail she missed. Though, as much as she loved quidditch, and that was a lot, Katie found it rather tiring to hear details about the match she should have been a part of, and couldn't help but feel envious towards the others who played the whole of what sounded like a great match.

'I'm going for a walk,' she suddenly announced, and quickly rose and left the common room without a glance behind her. Without looking back she left, slamming the portrait of the Fat Lady behind her and started walking without thinking about where she was going, but instead decided to let her feet take her somewhere–anywhere.

It was cold outside without the warm glow from the fire, and Katie found herself pulling the thin jacket she was wearing closely around her body, wishing that she'd brought a warmer jacket, or even her winter cloak with her. The Hogwarts grounds were full of students, either walking around in their groups idly or sitting under trees with books laid out around them revising.

Eventually, Katie decided to take a secluded spot under a large chestnut tree, a row of bushes nearby blocking the harsh wind that blew threw her thin clothes. With nothing to do as she sat, she decided that now would be the perfect time to practice for the charms practical Flitwick was insisting on giving them.

'Avis!' she said, swishing her wand as she had been taught to do so to send a flock of twittering canaries out of her wand. They flew almost giddily towards the lake and straight into the squid's outstretched tentacle only to be pulled below the surface in one final, prolonged twitter, never to be seen again. Katie couldn't help but laugh at the sight, earning her a few dirty looks from some horror-stricken first years, which only made Katie's laughing fit worse.

'Someone's in a good mood, Miss Inhumane!' That ever familiar Scottish drawl that it seemed like she hadn't heard in years, when in fact it was little over twenty-four hours.

'It wasn't my fault; those birds asked for it,' Katie replied with a smile as Oliver sat down beside her. 'Stopped ignoring me?'

'Who said I was ignoring you? Maybe I was simply busy,' he replied with a cheeky wink.

'You didn't even visit me in the hospital wing,' Katie whispered, the hurt in her voice, though she tried to mask it to seem like she was still teasing him, was obvious.

'I know. I guess I didn't want to see you like that – so helpless, and it was my fault you were that way –'

'No it wasn't!' Katie interrupted. 'If it was anyone's fault then it was mine for not paying attention, and don't say any different.'

'What happens if I do?' Oliver said teasingly, the seriousness of the conversation over in a matter of seconds.

'Then I might just have to kick you so hard you'll never be able to have children,' Katie said with a wink.

'Is that a threat?'

'That, Mr Wood, is a promise.'

'Nice; I'd never saw you as the kind to resort to muggle violence,' Oliver said with a laugh. 'Always thought you favoured hexes myself.'

'You learn something new everyday.'

**X**

The next weekend, Katie found herself snuggled up comfortable in the common room beside Oliver in a bright red loveseat away from the commotion the twins were making with their latest product. Laughter was erupting from the large group surrounding the redheads, but the couple were able to block it about and only seemed to be concentrating on the other.

'The scouts got back to me with their verdict this morning,' Oliver said slowly, changing the subject from his upcoming NEWTs. 'I thought you'd want to know their verdict first.'

'What'd they say?' Katie insisted, digging him in the ribs in an attempt to get the answer out of him faster.

'Well, they said it was a really hard decision . . .' he said slowly, sighing for maximum effect, which caused Katie to dig him in the ribs with her elbow to get an answer faster. 'But Puddlemore decided that they want me to be a starting keeper!' he finished, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

'Wow!' she gasped, thanks to her oxygen supply being cut of temporarily. 'Puddloemore Untied. That's great – It's greater than great. It's . . . brilliant! My boyfriend is Puddlemore's starting keeper!' Katie began rambling, only to be cut off by Oliver, who gentle pressed his lips over her to stop her, before pulling away from her far too soon for her liking.

'That's the other thing . . .' he began slowly, trying to find the words to say it. 'The coach said that it would be best if I wasn't . . . involved with anyone, just for the first year or so, so I could get used to the life . . .'

'Are – Are you breaking up with me?' Katie asked, her voice cracking a little as she spoke.

'Not breaking up – just asking if we could take a break,' Oliver said, explaining his side. 'Just until I can get my life in order. Surely you can understand that; this is everything I've ever wanted.'

'What about me? You're choosing quidditch over me!' She was shouting now, standing up and towering over his, her cheeks flushed in her fury. Attention was being drawn to the couple, the stares removing any chance of a private conversation in the room.

'Look, can we go somewhere a little more secluded?' Oliver asked weakly, standing up in an attempt to calm her down.

'No, Oliver, _we_ can't. By all means you can go, but don't expect me to come anywhere near you ever again! It's _over_, Oliver. I don't want to hear any of your bullshit about _taking a break_, because it's just an excuse, and a pretty stupid one at that! I'd say goodbye, but it's not particularly good and bad-bye doesn't have the same ring.'

And on that final note Katie stormed up the girls' staircase, her stomps could be heard over the silent common room until a door banged violently shut, causing the framework to tremor by the sound of it. Oliver collapsed back into the seat, sinking into the soft cushion and going over that scene in his head, one thought circulating his mind and dominating his thoughts:

_How could I have been so stupid?_

* * *

_**Right, so I'm not too happy with how this chapter turned out, but haven't updated **_**_recently_**_** so decided to post it anyway. However, I will give you two pieces of advice xD 1. Never go running in a pair of jeans that are too big, a crappy belt and a pair of vans; it's rather awkward. 2. Unless you know when to quit, don't play knuckles.**_

**_And pleeease don't hate me for that chapter. I promised Oliver would be back, but I don't think you expected that, did you? I'd also like to warn you that I think it's coming to an end; another few chapters and I've already decided how it's going to end. So, I'd like you to tell me if you want to see a sequel or not if you review xD  
_**

**_And now my reviews, who seriously rock!  
_**_heyyodude  
theessenceofmurtlap  
_


	18. Chapter 18

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it_

_**Evelyn Beatrice Hall:**_

* * *

**Chapter 18**

It was a very bleak day; a thick layer of dull grey clouds blocked the sun from view, but managed to retain the warmth of previous days under their protective coat. A breeze blew softly than was neither chilly nor warm; it was simply there, adding to the dreariness of the late morning.

The grass rippled silently in the breeze far below the quidditch team flying overhead, passing a quaffle amongst themselves as they went. Just like the world around them, they were silent as well.

However, there were only six in the air, the other teammate choosing to hide away in the changing rooms until she gathered the courage to show her face. Katie sat inside the changing rooms, staring at the cream wall in front of her without blinking, looking at it but not seeing anything; her mind was elsewhere. She was unsure is she had still managed to preserve some of her dignity after her well-publicised break-up with her captain Oliver Wood, a break-up that had made a lot of the girls in Hogwarts happy to see happen. If someone had of walked in, they would have thought that Katie found something about the walls highly interesting, but she didn't, she was merely thinking about how to go out onto the quidditch pitch without causing a scene.

Eventually she decided on the 'head-held-high' approach. She grabbed her broomstick and marched out of the changing rooms, kicking off quickly and joining the practice as if she had been there all alone, not sparing Oliver a glance. She flew as far away from him as possible, avoided passing him the quaffle, and whenever he decided to be rather spiteful a throw the quaffle in her direction suddenly zoomed off towards the other end of the pitch, letting it plummet to the ground. However, if she had have spared him, she would have noticed how much her pretending not to notice him was affecting him, as every time she stared as if looking right through him made the hole he had created in his heart even bigger, and although it was costing her the same price, she wouldn't give in.

'That's it for today,' Oliver finally announced, after a very tense and awkward practice session that seemed to drag on forever. Then, deciding to try and kill to bird with two stones, added, 'would you stay behind, Katie?'

'What do you want?' she asked frostily as soon as the rest of the team were out of earshot.

'I want to know what the hell's wrong with you? Why are you being so awkward? Do you even care about your team?' he demanded.

'I not being awkward, I'm being normal!' she almost shouted. 'And do you want to know what's wrong? Everything; just in case you forgot, _you_ broke up with _me_ last night, and now you expect me to act as if nothing happened? If you do, Mr Wood, then you are sadly mistaken! And as for whether or not I care about the team; I do, I just don't care about you!'

She took his speechless as her chance to make a quick mistake, but as she was about to enter the changing rooms she heard his voice behind her.

'Katie Bell! Get your ass back here NOW!'

Wheeling around she saw that he was standing the same place she left him, but was looking a hell of a lot angrier.

'Gonna make me?' Katie challenged before continuing on into the changing rooms without another backwards glance.

Sensing his defeat, Oliver slumped down onto the ground, resting his head in his hands and let out a single sigh.

_ I'll never understand that girl_, he thought, while wishing that things had turned out differently; that he hadn't done what he had wrongly thought what was best.

**X**

'Shit . . .' Katie mumbled, fumbling with the laces of her shoes as she hurried to tie them. Once again, she was forced to restart the tying process; an unfortunate result of her impatience. After a slowed down attempt, she managed to successfully tie the laces into a messy knot, but it would be enough to keep them on her feet.

She left the empty dormitory minutes later, her school bag hanging on her shoulder, and headed straight to the Great Hall for a rather rushed breakfast, before being forced to run to class to avoid being late. It was all part of her genius time to leave no time for Oliver to talk to her or be a part of her life, thus helping with the healing process. The only time she would have to see him was at quidditch practice, and the only thing that kept her going was her stubbornness and that fact that she felt that is she quit it would be letting him win, and that was exactly the opposite of what Katie wanted.

'You were almost late,' Cullen commented as Katie slid into her seat in front of him as the bell rang.

'But I wasn't,' Katie shot back with an edge on her voice, ignoring the angry looks Snape was sending in her direction, irritated that he'd lost a chance to remove points by a few measly seconds.

'I was only tell you,' he replied quietly.

'Well don't!' she snapped.

'Woman,' Cullen muttered, before adding, 'must be that time of the month.'

As soon as the words reached Katie's ears she was on her feet and wheeled around to face him, her wand out and currently pointing to the bridge of his nose. 'Say that again to my face,' she challenged, earning her the attention of the whole class.

'Say what?' he replied, not blinking at the closeness of the wand.

'You know,' was all she said, staring at his with indifference.

'What'll you do if I don't?' he questioned, raising an eyebrow as if to show that he knew nothing would come from her confrontation.

'I'll hex you,' Katie said, her voice quivering slightly as she spoke to give her away.

'No you won't,' Cullen said with a smirk. 'You won't do anything, and you and I know it.'

With a flick of her wand Cullen was suspended in the middle of the potions classroom by his ankle, his face slowly growing red as the blood rushed to it.

'Won't I?' Katie said coldly, looking at his with apathy before storming out of the room, leaving her possessions behind her to aid in a quick escape.

Her feet carried her to the closest toilet and as soon as she was inside she slip to the ground below the washbasin, pulling her knees into her chest and resting her forehead on her knees to form a ball. A few stifled sobs could be heard from the girls before she broke down completely, tears staining her face, pulling whatever makeup of the little she wore down her cheeks with them. Eventually, her sobs became less frequent and turned into a series of hiccoughs.

No one came looking for her; though whether became they didn't care, or before they feared being on the receiving end of her wrath, she didn't know.

* * *

**_You don't know how hard that second bit was to write, but I needed some form of stress relief after a long and hard day, so decided to buckle down and get it finished and up. Sorry I took so long to post it, but I had tests all this week, and now have a show at drama, as well as the usual soap opera dilemas in my life, but it's up and that's all the matters. It's not the longest, but Im pretty proud of it, I think. Just remember that Katie's emotionally unstable at the minute and very unsure of herself. Hope you liked it.  
_**

**_My reviews, who are trés cool for pressing that button xD:  
_**_heyyodude  
theessenceofmurtlap  
_


	19. Chapter 19

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions._

_**David Borenstein**_

* * *

**Chapter 19**

It was quiet. That was the first thing Katie noticed when she woke up the next morning. The second was that she was wound up in her bed covers from all her tossing and turning during the night. She couldn't remember making her way back to her dormitory the previous night, so was naturally shocked to find the familiar walls surrounding her. Finally, she noticed that the other four beds were empty, which left herself thinking was she up late, or had the others just awoken early. A quick glance at her bedside clock told her that she was late, and, since there was nothing new there, she decided not to hurry.

Half an hour later, Katie emerged from the bathroom connected to her dormitory looking presentable. She smoothed out a crease in her skirt before picking up her bag from the ground beside her bed and heading out the door.

With only ten minutes left of her first class of the day, Katie decided that it would be in her best interest to just skip it completely and head straight to Defence Against the Dark Arts, which she did. She arrived just as the rest of the class was entering the room, as she had strategically planned, and slid into her usual seat just as Professor Lupin entered from a door at the back of him room that led to his chambers.

'Good morning class, today we will be duelling!' he announced cheerfully, a smile on his worn face. 'You'll be graded by your performance, and shall be duelling a classmate that I think is of the same ability level. Any questions?'

A small and stout Hufflepuff in the front raised his hand. 'Sir,' he said, 'Will there be a restriction of the spells allowed?'

'It goes without saying that you can't use any unforgivable, and I think it would be wise to say that you can't use anything that will cause too much harm; shall we try to keep it at safe?'

The class muttered what sounded like a 'yes' in reply, although everyone kept their heads down, none of the wanting to go first.

'Sir!' one of the cockier Gryffindor boys asked, leaning back so his chair was on two legs. 'Can we go after we've had our turn duelling, or should we just stay and watch the rest?'

'You can go when you've finished,' the Professor confirmed. 'Now, who wants to go first?'

The classroom fell silent and all heads went down in the blink of the eye as Professor Lupin chose his first two victims.

'Mr Bennet, why don't you go first against . . . Mr Webber.' It wasn't a question, but more of a nicely phrases command as both Ravenclaws matched up to the front of the room, which Lupin cleared away with a casual flick of his wand leaving space for the duel. 'Keep it clean boys,' he said before letting them start.

They started with feeble sparks in a rainbow of colours being emitted from their wands before moving on to simple hexes. A simple letdown of his guard saw Webber being thrown thought the air; landing sprawled out on the floor, a series of large, puss-filled covering all the skin that was visible. He appeared to be unconscious. Professor Lupin hurried to the unconscious boy and ran his wand quickly over his, murmuring some quick words.

'It seems that he hit his head when he fell. Perhaps you should take him to Madam Pomfrey, Mr Bennet.' He said it all very calmly, before conjuring a stretched and levitating Webber very gracefully onto it.

'Now, how about Ms Taylor and Ms Gordon next?' The giggle pair made up of a Hufflepuff and Gryffindor made their way slowly to the front, glancing once more at the Professor before busting into a fresh wave of giggles. It was thanks to their hysterics that their duel ended quickly after an innocent jellylegs curse backfired on Ms Gordon, sending her flying into the brick wall behind her. Needless to say she was rushed to the hospital wing.

'Ms Bell and Mr Aiken, I think!' the Professor stated simply, hoping that this duel wouldn't finish with one of the pair being taken to the hospital wing.

Katie slowly stood up and walked to the front of the room, ignoring Cullen who had just risen from a group of Ravenclaw boys. Revenge was all that was on his mind after how she had humiliated him the day before.

'Cullen,' she greeted coldly.

'Katie,' he replied matching the frostiness of her voice.

And they started. Unlike the groups before them, the pair went straight into hexes; jets of coloured lights flew between them, some missing completely and hitting objects behind the target and others being blocked—none hit their targets. A few went ricocheting around the room, causing the rest of the class to dive under their desks for cover from the unknown hex.

'Stupefy!' they both cried at the same time, their jets of light meeting in the middle, causing a blast that sent their both flying backwards into the wall. Neither stayed down for longer that necessary, and in a matter of seconds they were both up and fighting again, showing no mercy.

'Petrificus totalus,' Katie shouted, brandishing her wand in her opponent's direction. The curse hit him square in the chest before he knew what hit him and with a bang that was disproportional to his size his body hit the ground along with the sound that was unmistakable bones breaking. Slowly she walked up to his bound body, pointed her wand to his head and whispered, 'Stupefy.'

* * *

**_Today's lesson is never annoy a very annoyed woman. Sorry it took me so long to update, but with a show in drama that left me getting little sleep, tests in school that left me with little free time and too much worrying about things I shouldn't worry about I've had very little time to even thing recentlly! I'll try & update again soon, before I go away anyway. Hope you liked it, and review if your feeling generous.  
_**

_**Now to thank you for teh reviews xD:  
**jalapeno1011  
_

**_And special thanks_ _to theessenceofmurtlap for pointing out that I'd posted the wrong chapter._**


	20. Chapter 20

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_And life without pain is a long endless chain of errors repeated again and again. So don't be afraid of pain, don't run away_

**_American punk band Pain_**

* * *

**Chapter 20  
**

The stars were bright in contrast to the pitch-black blanket they were scattered liberally over. A few stray clouds could be seen blowing smoothly across the sky, low on the horizon, while the large orb that was the moon provided the only light on the top of the astronomy tower, its silvery glows gently illuminating everything that was in their paths.

Below the thousands of sparkling sat one lone soul, staring up into the heavens doing nothing more that letting her mind wander. Calmness flowed thought every morsel of her body as he pulled her knees tightly into her chest, resting her chin on top of them and slowly closing her eyes. It would be impossible to sleep up there for the simple reason of the sub-zero temperatures thanks to the very chilling wind that blew.

It was the same wind that made Katie curse herself for not thinking of bringing a jacket or a cloak, but choosing to go out in a pair of jeans and a long sleeves t-shirt that proved to do nothing to help in the way of insulation. However, since it was already past curfew, she had decided not to risk her luck and go back to get a jacket, not wishing to spend her last day at the school in detentions with Filch, or worse, Snape.

She could vaguely make out a few of the constellations she had been forced to learn in astronomy; Sagittarius; the archer; Canis Major and Minor, the dogs; Orion—which was her personal favourite—the hunter. Though, as she stared, the stars seemed to slowly merge together to form a very dim, but constant glow in the sky, which caused her to give up her stargazing.

'You'll catch a cold out here.'

'Go away, Oliver.'

'We need to talk.'

'No, I think you've already said enough. Don't you?'

'Fine, don't talk, but at least listen. _Please_.'

She replied with a silence that he took to be a good sign.

'I've said some stupid things in my life, Katie, and quite a few of them have been said to you, and they hurt you, I know, and hurting you hurts me, but you've always fond it in your heart to forgive me for my mistakes. But this time I screw up big time, and I know it. What I done was selfish, but the thing is, I didn't realise how lucky I was to have you and what a stupid mistake I was making until you were gone. It was unforgivable, but I'm asking—I'm _pleading_—that you'll forgive me eventually. I love you, Katie, and I'm not ready to lose you. So what do you say?'

For a few minutes his last words hung in the air between the pair as Oliver looked at her hopefully, while Katie stared into the distance somewhere over the tops of the trees that made up the forbidden forest. Eventually she answered though.

'Could you do me a favour and close the door behind you on your way out?' Her voice was cold and, like her face, void from any emotions. Her words cut him deeply and she knew it and—although she wanted with all her heart to forgive him; her heart just calling out '_forgive him!_' with every agonizing beat—she couldn't make the words come out of her mouth; she wanted to cause him pain as if it would make them even for all the pain he had caused her.

The door closed with a sharp 'click' that brought her back to reality. Turning her head around to stare at the closed door she noticed a bundle of black material lying on the ground beside it; his cloak. She carefully reached for it and draped it around her shoulders, glad of the warmth. A deep breath told her it smelt exactly as she remembered him to have smelt; soap and a faint hint of ink.

It was then that she finally realised the mistake she had made, letting him leave like that; like sand running though her open fingers, except that she hadn't even bothered to try and grasp on, to hold as much as she could manage to in her clenched fist. Instead she had just let it all fall further and further until it was too late to catch it. Until she had missed her chance. Her chance of happiness.

**X**

'Katie, what's wrong?' Helena asked as Katie came barging into the dormitory they shared the next morning, and proceeded to getting changed at top speed.

'I messed up, but I'm going to fix it before it's too late,' was all her friend said in reply before racing out of the room again and down the stairs at top speed.

Her first destination was the Great Hall, in which she quickly searched up and down the Gryffindor table in vain, as well as the three remaining tables just to make sure he wasn't there, before she ran outside, breathing heavily as she pushed herself to run faster that she had ever ran before.

'Oliver!' she wheezed, heading first towards the lakes edge, then around the edges of the Forbidden Forest until she finally realised the one place that she should have went first.

The quidditch pitch.

'Oliver!' she shouted again as soon as she arrived, adrenaline pumping almost painfully through her veins as she searched the quidditch pitch and stands only to find them completely empty.

The changing rooms!

'Oliver!' There was no reply, but her voice echoed off the plain white walls, coming back to her with the same amount of desperation as her own held. Once again she found it empty.

Thousands of emotions and feelings suddenly erupted inside of her; more than she thought was humanely possible to feel at once. Defeat; she hadn't found him and didn't know where else to look. Disappointment; she had lost her chance. Frustration; she didn't know what to do. Agony; her heart was being ripped from her chest.

Suddenly, a large chiming could be heard across the whole of the castle grounds, signifying that it was time to leave the school once again for the summer on the faithful Hogwarts Express.

The Hogwarts Express!

She was running again, her flame of hope relit just had it have extinguished. That one last thread of hope would keep her going onwards as she pushed herself harder and harder to run faster across the dew ridden grass that threatened to cause her to slip.

'Miss Bell, have you ever been taught to tell the time?' Professor McGonagall snapped as Katie arrived at the train station just a few minutes before the train was due to depart. Professor McGonagall was patrolling the station, seeing to it that yet another years train ride went off without a hitch. 'Miss Bell,' she said as she noticed Katie. 'Have you even been taught to tell the time?'

'Yes, Professor,' she replied breathlessly.

'Then why do you always insist on being the last to arrive?'

'Sorry, Professor. Bad luck I guess.'

'Well hurry up, Miss Bell. You don't want to miss the train, do you?'

'No, Professor.'

'And Katie,' Professor McGonagall called as Katie was about to shut the carriage's door. 'Don't be too hard on the boy; he's only human.'

With a small smile Katie closed the door as the train began to slowly move away from the station—away from her home away from home. Hurrying along the corridor and looking though the window in the doors into the different compartment for one, which was occupied with her friends, and, if her assumptions were right, he would be sitting on his last train ride home.

'Katie!' Fred called, sticking his head out of a door a few doors down from where she was currently looking. 'We thought you'd missed the train!'

'Obviously not,' Katie said with a forced laugh as she approached slowly, her mind whizzing around to find the words she would say when she finally faced him. The words '_I can't live without you_,' seemed to be sufficient enough in her mind, but she couldn't help but wonder how cliché they would sound when spoke aloud. Then she realised what had been in front of her all along; she didn't care how cliché it sounded, or how stupid, just as long as they were together she would be happy. Her own happily ever after.

'Where's Oliver?' was the first thing she asked when she entered, seeing the rest of the quidditch team and her friends with the exception of the caption, the very person she wanted to see most.

'Oliver's not here, Katie,' Alicia said softly, pointing out the obvious.

'I can see that, but where is he?' she demanded.

'I'm really Sorry, Katie, but he told us not to tell you,' George said, his face showing that he really was sorry and that it was the last thing he wanted to do. 'Said to tell you that he's sorry, though. He said he'd leave you alone now and that you'll never have to worry about him again or shed another tear because of him.'

'Fat lot of good that'll do,' Katie whispered, a few tears rolling down her cheek that she didn't bother to wipe away.

'Just tell me where he is,' Katie said very slowly as she used all her strength to stop herself either lashing out on her friends for holding this from her or from breaking down completely there and then.

'He's not here, Katie,' Fred said quietly. 'He apparated first thing this morning, home I presume. Said he didn't want to make things any worse that they were and hopes that with time and space you'll learn to forgive him.'

'Shit,' she whispered, falling to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut in the middle of the compartment.

'Katie, what's wrong?' Angelina asked in a soothing voice, rushing to her side and stroking her hair like a mother to a child in a thunderstorm.

'I love the idiot,' was all Katie replied, tears rolling freely down her cheeks as she saw just how big her mistake had been.

'Did you ever tell him that?' she asked softly.

'No . . .'

And the last grain of sand went sliding thought her opened fingers.

* * *

_**This chapter was for everyone who's ever let someone slip thought their fingers and for everyone who ever will; a simple mistake you're not always aware you're making until it's too late.**_

_**Right, so please don't hate me! xD This has to be my favourite chapter so far & the longest!, and there'll be one more to come, a sort of epilogue, so tell me if you want to see a sequel or not!**_

_**Did it make you cry? Sorry if it did, but I have a thing against happy endings; I just think they're too unrealistic, but that's probably because I'm still on the lookout for mine xD Hope you liked it. **_

_**And once again, thanks to** theessenceofmurtlap__** for letting me know about that biiiig mistake and for the review!  
**_


	21. Old Epilogue

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live_

_**Dorothy Thompson**_

* * *

**Epilogue  
**

'Woo!!'

Katie screamed on the top of her lungs, swinging around a lamppost on the street corner not far from the small apartment she had been living in since graduating the month before. Her friends Alicia and Angelina joined her yelling, the trio slightly tipsy from their night out on celebration of Katie's new job of starting chaser for the Chudley Canons. Their laughter filled the empty street as they slowly made their way home.

'I can't believe you drank all that, Katie, and can still stand, let alone walk home!' Alicia exclaimed suddenly, talking about the amount of alcohol her friend had consumed that night.

'I know. She's drinks like a fish,' Angelina added with a laugh that caused another chorus of laughter to fill the sweet summer air.

'It's a gift,' Katie replied, sticking her tongue as she swung around the lamppost once again before jumping off with the grace of a gazelle.

'We'll see you tomorrow, Katie,' Alicia said as they came to the corner of the street.

'Yeah, bye,' Angelina added before the pair went one direction and Katie headed the other.

As she walked, Katie found herself humming to herself, the song of the school she had recently left. The memories of her time floated around her head, distorted as the amount of alcohol started to take its toll on her.

'Congratulations,' a deep voice said from behind her, causing her to jump a little and start to panic until the dark figure stepped out of the shadows and into the artificial orange glow of a street lamp.

'Oliver?' she asked, squinting to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

'That's my name,' he replied, giving her the same smile that she remembered; the smile he smiled in her dreams. 'Missed me?'

'Miss _me_?' Katie asked, cocking an eyebrow as she refused an answer.

'Every day,' he replied, and it was by the pain she could see in his eyes that told her that his answer was genuine.

'Then I guess maybe I did . . . A little,' she answered slowly, looking at her feet as she did so.

'Then what went wrong?' he asked. She looked slowly up, catching his eyes, falling deeper and deeper into the swirls of brown until she had the sense to pull away before she couldn't get out again and went back to staring at her feet.

'I guess it got too real and I panicked. I was only sixteen, Oliver, and it was a big commitment.'

'But you're not sixteen anymore, Katie, and I know it's big, but it's wonderful. I love you. Isn't that enough?'

'I – I don't know what to say . . .' she said slowly, pushing some hair away from her face and tucking it behind her hair before looking up again. 'But one thing I know is that if I let you go again I could be making the biggest mistake of my life. I love you, Oliver.'

**X**

The next morning, as soon as she had awoke Katie noticed that a few things were different that they usually were. Firstly, the sheets on the bed weren't the ones usually on the bed, washed so many times with cheep washing up powder that all softness had left them leaving her with a rough pile that made it feel like she was sleeping on a pile of stray. Secondly, and probably most importantly, she clothes were currently strewn across the room and not on her, as they should be. And thirdly, when she rolled over on the bed—as was part of her usual morning routine to wake up—she didn't, as she should have, fall painfully onto the cold wooden floor, but instead found herself still safely in bed. It was then she realised that things were very wrong.

Her eyes opened and her pupils darted around her unknown surroundings, looking for a clue to tell her where she was. It wouldn't have taken Sherlock Homes to work that out; quidditch posters covered one wall along with newspaper articles, the other two walls that were in her line of vision were painted a very tasteful white, with a fireplace on the wall in front of her made out of black marble. On top of it sat only one thing though; a plain, but stylish, silver photo frame in which she was shocked to see herself staring out of, except she was a few years younger and, judging by the smile that took over her whole face, had been taken just after they had won the Quidditch Cup.

'Shit,' she whispered as she realised where she was.

Slowly she turned around, trying to make as little noise as possible, but it didn't matter. She found herself facing an empty side of the bed that, by the looks of it, had been empty for a while. The sheets had been smoothed down and the pillow fluffed up to perfection, which was much unlike the man she used to know who would leave clothes lying everywhere and only tied up if it was a necessity. She couldn't help but wonder what he had become.

Without rushing herself, Katie extracted her clothes from around the room and proceeded to getting dressed. Her memories from the previous night came flooding back to her and she remembered all the promised her had made her and at the time she had believed them, but now she could see sense; they were empty promised used so that he could get what he wanted.

She wanted to stay; wanted to start a life with him, but deep down she knew that her life would be just like this; waking up to a cold bed every morning and drowning her sorrows with alcohol until she could no longer remember what had happened before forgiving him once again, and a routine would be set. A routine she refused to fall into it she could help it.

Searching thought the drawers of the writing desk in the corner, she quickly removed some parchment, a bottle of ink and a badly battered quill, but it would have to do. She dipped the quill into the ink and carefully so as to avoid splattering ink on the page began to write. Finally, she closed the bottle on ink and replaced it and the quill into the drawer and then sealing the piece of parchment and leaving it on top of the writing desk.

**X**

It was with reluctance that Oliver had left that morning for practice, but knew that if he called in sick he risked loosing his job since the biggest match of his career was only days away. He decided to do something extra nice for Katie to make up for leaving her, picking up a bunch of yellow roses, her favourite type of flowers, from a small florist on his way home as a surprise. He fumbled as he tried to open the door, trying to both hold the flowers and open the door with the key, but eventually he succeeded.

'I'm home,' he called as he opened the door to his flat, expecting to see her sitting in the living room, curled up on the sofa reading one of the many books on his large bookcase, but when he saw she wasn't he wasn't phased.

Searching thought the rooms he finally came to the bedroom. His last stop. He slowly turned the handle, wanting to prolong the moment, before throwing the door opened. However, what he found was not when he had expected.

An empty room. She wasn't there.

The flowers dropped to the floor as he released, ignoring the small thud they made as they landed on the carpeted floor and walked slowly forward. Half of the bed was unmade, the sheets wrinkled and twisted; he bit back the urge to tidy them, something he would never have even thought of doing a few years ago, but that was one of the many things that had changed because of her. He was tidier now and more organised, purely because he wanted to be the man he thought she wanted.

It was then that he noticed something that was out of place; a piece of parchment sitting on the desk instead of piled up neatly in the drawer with the rest. He picked it up, and was about to throw it into the drawer when he noticed that on the front, written in fancy script was 'Oliver.'

Katie's fancy script.

He opened it carefully so as not to rip it, and read it. He read it once quickly, but the words didn't sink in as he concentrated on the loops of her g's and the flicks on her t's. Her read it again, looking at the words she had so carefully wrote. And a third time, this time reading it with more care, but still not fully understanding. A fourth time, not believing when he had read. A fifth, still in denial. A sixth, just to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks. A seventh, because seven in the magic number.

She was gone.

**X**

_Dear Oliver_, she wrote.

_By the time you get this I'll be long gone. I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I had to go. This isn't the life for me and, as much as I want to make it work, I can't, because I know that that decision would just cause more pain. I don't want to hurt you, Oliver, and although it might hurt now, with time the pain will lessen._

_ I'm sorry for every ounce of pain I ever caused you; every tear I made you cry; every sleepless night that was brought on by my stupid, reckless and downright selfish actions. I never meant any of it and if I could take them all back I would. But I can't._

_ I don't want to make this any harder that it already is, so I'm going to stop writing now._

_ Love, _

_ Katie._

**_The End_**

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_**So, what'd you think? Review & let me know. xD This wasn't how I'd originally planned it to end; the original was much happier, but I'm happier with this one xD Hope you enjoyed it!  
**_

_**Thanks to **theessenceofmurtlap** for the review.**_

**I'd also like to thank everyone who's reviewed; who gave me the motivation to carry on. You guys and girls rock!**

**Now, do you think I should write a sequel? If I do, anything you'd like to see in it? Anyone? Review & let me know! **


	22. Real Epilogue

**Fear of Falling**

* * *

_You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life_

**_Albert Camus_**

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**Epilogue  
**

Katie watched at the crowds of people around her filled out of their seats, their voices animated with their commentary on the quidditch match they had just observed, some with disbelief, others with glee. Breaking away from her pack of friends, she started to make her way through the vast crowds, talking animatedly about what they had just witnessed. Emerging from the other side, she found that she had been followed.

'Cullen, don't you trust me for a few minutes?' she asked, laughing a fake laugh as she did so.

'I just don't want to loose you,' he replied, giving her the warm smile that he reserved for only her.

'I'll just be a minute,' she told him, and then added, 'I promise.'

Before he could say anything more, she was away, weaving through the thick crowd as quickly as she possibly could without falling so that he would loose sight of her in the crowd.

'Hey there stranger!' the familiar voice of Oliver Wood greeted as she walked straight into him.

'Sorry, I didn't see y-' Katie started, but looking up to see who it was she stopped abruptly. 'Congratulations on winning,' she said coldly, looking away when Oliver tried to catch her eye.

'I missed you,' he stated as if he were merely talking about the weather, choosing to look at his feet instead of in her eyes.

Katie laughed frostily, not meaning to sound rude, while her features were showing no emotions. 'You could have replied to my letters, you know.'

'I wanted to, but I didn't know how to.'

'Pick up a quill and some parchment, write a letter, then send it with your owl?' Katie said mockingly. 'Oliver, if there's a reason you didn't write, just tell me.' She was pleading with him for an answer she would be happy with. Her voice was almost a whisper. 'Is it my fault?'

'You overestimate my power of words, Katie,' he said simply, not caring to elaborate.

'Well, you're not helping me understand,' Katie said, her distress coming through clearly in her voice. She turned to leave, the wall between her and her emotions breaking down to reveal the same girl he had known to love all those years to do. The girl who tried out for is quidditch team in her second year. The girl who just wanted to be loved.

Out of instinct, he grabbed her wrist, not wanting to let her slip away again.

'Katie!' he said, his voice cracking, as he forced her to look at him before whispering,'It's just . . . I didn't want to mess up again.'

'Mess up? You think you _messed up_?' she asked, and then continued without waiting for an answer. 'Oliver, in your last year of Hogwarts I caused you nothing but pain, and you think _you_ messed up?'

He lifted his gaze into her eyes, and then quickly lowered it to his feet again before answering in a whisper. 'Katie, all the pain was worth it.'

'What?' Katie said, although she had heard him clearly.

'I love you,' he repeated, this time louder and stronger. 'I know I've said it before, but being apart made me realised that I love you so much, Katie, that I as long as I can see you happy and smiling then I don't care about myself. I just want to see you happy.'

A few deep breaths followed this on both behalf's, as Katie tried to process everything he had just said, and Oliver attempted to slow down his racing heart.

'I love you, too,' Katie said after a few minutes silence.

Oliver's heart nearly jumped out of his chest as her sweet words reached his ears. A smile was painted over his face and the shine that had been missing from his eyes was replaced, as if my magic.

'But,' Katie began, and Oliver's features dropped. 'I'm going out with Cullen . . .'

'Cullen?' Oliver repeared, trying to sound calm.

'Yes,' Katie answered sheepishly, looking at her feet.

'But, I though you hated him. . .'

'He was there when I needed a shoulder to cry on; he helped me pick up the broken pieces that were left behind when you left my live, but . . . I'm just stringing him along, aren't I? Setting him up to get hurt even worse than I was . . .' Katie said, sounding frustrated. 'Tell me what to do!' she tried to order, but it came out weaker that she had anticipated.

Nonetheless, Oliver answered her. 'Follow your heart.'

'But what do _you_ think I should do?'

'That's not my choice to make.'

Sensing that she had been beaten, Katie allowed an awkward silence to form between the two as she thought.

'I have to go,' Katie said finally, breaking the silence. 'Cullen's waiting for me.'

'Katie, wait!' Oliver barked, before she'd even turned to go, tightening the grip he still had on her wrist. 'I _need_ you.'

It seemed that that was all that Katie wanted to hear from him; she wanted to be needed and loved and didn't care about anything else. Before she knew what she was doing, she'd jumped into Oliver's outstretched arms and was caught by the man she'd loved since she was a first year, even if he hadn't noticed her then.

How long they stayed in each other's arms? Who knows? But on thing that is for sure is that they had never felt they belonged in someone's arms more in their life.

'Cullen,' Katie suddenly whispered, noticing a figure not that far away watching the couple, an expression on his face that showed that behind his strong mask he was slowly crumbling.

'I'll always love you,' the figure said, his voice just loud enough to carry in the light breeze.

Slowly, but with very precise movements, he turned his back to them and walked away from the now empty stadium of Puddlemore United. His heart broken, but it still beat simply because he knew they woman he loved was happy, even if he wasn't. And that's what mattered the most to him. Katie.

The couple watched the man go, until he apparated as soon as he crossed the threshold to the stadium. For a minute they simply stared at the spot they had last seen him, before Oliver mustered the courage to grab Katie hand, which hug by her side. She squeezed his hand as she felt it take hers, glad to finally have him at her side.

'Where do we go from here?' he asked her, as they walked towards the changing rooms.

'Wherever this adventure takes us, I expect,' she replied, stopping in her tracks. 'I'll wait for you out here.'

He entered the changing rooms alone and proceeded to get changed out of his quidditch robes, take a shower and get changed into his muggle clothes as fast as he could, not wanting to spend another minute apart than was completely necessary.

Outside, Katie sat on a nearby bench, letting her thoughts wander free in her mind. Katie Bell was in love, and after years of silence, had finally won her man.

**_The Real End_**

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_**Okay, I know I've posted an Epilogue, but I prefer this one so this one will stick! The other one is an alternative, unhappy ending. Im going to leave it up, though Im not sure why xD  
**_

_**Thanks to **edwardlover101, theessenceofmurtlap **and espeically** anonymous crank__** for the reviews.**_

_**And now my little epiphany bit full of thankings that you can skip if you want xD;  
I have a lot of people to thank now; my reviews for the motivation to continue, my friends who give me ideas and got me into writing in the first place, and one friend in particular who, even if they don't know it, has helped me a lot recently. I'd also like the thank the nice view I get from my window when sitting at the computer on a nice day of a field, sometimes with cows in it, sometimes empty, that I find very beautiful xD I've found that inspiration can come in many forms, helping even the most severe cases of writers block, so I should thank the people that provide inspiration as well xDD And thanks to anyone I forgot to thank as well xD**_


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